Sarah Siltala was born into a family of professional artists and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Siltala’s father is a ceramic artist who creates pottery with intricate designs and illustrative drawings of birds, fish, and animals, and her mother was a weaver but now works in found object assemblage.  

Siltala is primarily known for her meditative still-life paintings that often contrast virtues found in nature with man-made objects. She is for the most part a self-taught artist. Today she creates her own oil paints from dry pigment and handmade linseed oil in the tradition of the old masters. 

Stillness and moments of quiet are the ephemeral influences in my work. Just as a bird alights only for a moment, and then is gone, I try to capture that brief moment where the world stops for an instant and we are fully aware. Whether a still life or landscape, I am interested in capturing the most feeling with the least amount of busy mark-making to communicate my vision. I prefer smooth surfaces and empty space to showcase the small details I want the viewer to focus on. I spend several weeks on each painting, patiently layering thin veils of oil paint to reveal a depth of color and luminosity that makes each work unique. This draws the viewer in to look more closely at its hidden complexity. I try to find balance in quiet, contemporary composition and harmonious color and texture.