Sandra Willard (Born 1970) was born in Ontario, Canada. She has been working as a full-time professional artist since 2010. Sandra immigrated to the US from Canada in 2004 to marry her husband, Thomas. She is a self-taught artist who draws inspiration from the Dutch masters of still life such as Willem Kalf and Jan Davidsz de Heem. Keeping her compositions minimal and clean, her favorite subjects include flowers, lace and antiques. Her medium of choice is scratchboard for its archival qualities and its sensitivity to touch. Sandra uses a medical scalpel to achieve painterly effects through traditional drawing techniques. Within the short time that she has been a full-time artist, Sandra has had several group exhibitions and two solo exhibitions in galleries in Illinois.
Her art has been published in the 4th edition of Strokes of Genius and in the American Art Collector magazine. Sandra has won numerous awards at many art fairs and juried exhibitions; the most recent award being her Honorable Mention from the 2012 Artist's Magazine All-Media Online competition. She is a juried member of the International Guild of Realism and a juried master member and a founding member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. Her work can be found in private collections throughout Canada, the United States, Australia, France and New Zealand. She currently resides with her husband and two dogs in Springfield, IL. Sandra is particularly fascinated with the juxtaposition of needlework pieces and flowers in her still-lifes. She’s inspired by pattern and light.
