Sarah K. Clanton

You often work with collage and acrylics—what draws you to these materials in particular?

Throughout my life I’ve been drawn to photography and I’ve been drawn to painting. In the late 1900’s I would make tiny collages on lighters to deter lighter theft. It didn’t work. Up until relatively recently, I would resist combining those mediums. Now, when I start a piece, no material or medium is safe from my wanting to see the thing I want to see. When I started to do collage, I used acrylic paint instead of glue. Not for any reason other than that was what I had handy. Once the image was pressed into the paint I needed to further “glue” it down by painting lightly over or along the edges. The unintended result pleased my eye. Rearranging ripped up creations, materials and found images affords me the chance to break away from planning a piece. Through this process, I find that the deeper meaning has a better chance of coming through without a plan getting in my way. I’m forever practicing getting myself out of the way. I find that when I’m working within that paradigm, my favorite pieces emerge. Also, once I use a found image or material, it’s gone. The “one time only” aspect of every piece is important to my process and it makes it so repeating pieces exactly cannot occur. All that being said, I use acrylics because they dry fast.

Sarah K Clanton | Coit Tower

How does your California heritage influence your artistic vision?

I’m a California Girl. I recognize the incredible and natural jewel that I am lucky to live inside of. I’ve always marveled at everything the eye can see here. Often, jerks have asked me if “I get out much”. Here’s the thing though, everywhere one looks there is a varied and stunning visual “show”. All of this with the layer of human existence, struggle and joy, sitting precariously on top of it. There are a LOT of humans in California. Rich and poor. There are a LOT of soaring landmarks in California. Standing tall or in disrepair. When I read Umberto Eco’s “Travels In Hyperreality” years ago, my eyes were further opened to America and California’s “newness” on a global scale. Our ruins here are brand new, relatively. Our standing castles are essentially facades. However, the cliffs, lakes, rivers, ocean, deserts, valleys and mountains were here long before we humans decorated them. When I saw that people come from all over the world to see this place, I understood more why I have always been dazzled by it.

Your work blends landscapes with emotional and surreal elements. How do you balance the real and the imagined?

I don’t know that I do. One of the things that I struggle with the most with my work is balance. I feel like as an artist, I am mostly voice. My voice usually has a lot to say at the same time. Often, it’s too much. I was a professional cook for years and balancing flavors and elements is a necessary and practiced discipline. I’m not positive that I’ve figured that out with my art yet. Balance seems to be forever beyond my grasp. If it happens at all, it’s more than likely an accident. The great thing about it though is I don’t really care about that when I’m creating. I just want to see it.

Sarah K Clanton | Golden Gate Park

What role does memory play in your creative process?

The role memory plays is huge.

I’m lucky. I remember. I remember smells and emotions. I remember “how the air felt” when I learned something new or saw something for the first time. It helps a lot with getting out of my own way when I want to see those intangible things on a canvas.

Sarah K Clanton | Memories Can’T Wait

You mention “danger” and “romance” among your themes. How do you visually express these contrasting ideas?

In my opinion, romance IS dangerous. It’s a place where we lose our ability to be practical. Humans throw themselves off of cliffs despite the probable pain of heartbreak and loss while hypnotized by romance. I think these themes are particularly strongly represented in “Sutro Baths”. A couple poses for an engagement photo. Seemingly on the edge of the world. They are posing on a ruin. The churning ocean beyond them under the stormy sky. The relative calm of the reflection full of future hurts and triumphs represented by fabrics charged with hope and the grief of heartbreaks. This, this is romance AND danger.

Sarah K Clanton | Memories Can’T Wait

How do you choose the found materials or textures that go into your collages?

I find old books and magazines at library sales, thrift stores, and my own way too large collection. I like the difficulty of using old paper. It’s usually brittle and unpredictable. As far as the rest of the materials, it’s usually whatever is within arms reach of my work table. I “choose” them because they help me see what I want to see.

Sarah K Clanton | Memories Can’T Wait

Is there a specific landmark or landscape that you return to frequently in your work?

Other than the ocean and outer space, the Golden Gate Bridge pops up a lot. When I lived in San Francisco for many years, I would make sure that I looked at the bridge every day, because it changes every day. I would take an extra bus on my commute to my egg cook job early in the morning so I could stop and check it out. When I was a kid we would ride bikes across it, getting batted about by the wind. Or, I would be a passenger watching its construction elegantly expand and contract as we drove across. I think the reason why it pops up so frequently is because of the complicated nature of collective memory. Some people go to see the bridge and have no memories connected to it. Or, they have seen it in a movie or a photograph. Some people see it and they remember a loved one who jumped or rode over it for the last time right before they crashed into death. Some people have talked their loved ones or even strangers off the edge. Some people have been talked off the ledge. Some people surf under it everyday. Some people sail under it in tall ships coming from the choppy ocean to the calm bay. There are sharks and unpredictable currents under that bridge. Often it is completely obscured by fog. Occasionally it is sharp and vibrant. All of that and more is why I find it incredibly dynamic and beautiful and can’t seem to get away from it. When I see or think about the Golden Gate bridge, no matter the weather, it’s astronaut suit weather.

Sarah K. Clanton | Sutro Baths | 2025