Sandy Brooks: Pause to See a World of Possibilities
Today’s environment can quickly harden us. The hustle, the rush, the stressors – we often go through life cynical and disenchanted.
But when we step back to look at the world around us – not at the crowded freeways and jammed sidewalks, but at the natural beauty that breathes beyond the concrete – we begin to shed the armor we throw on as adults and rediscover the hopefulness of our youth. By transporting art fans back to nature, wildlife and portrait artist Sandy Brooks helps us rediscover the innocence we’ve lost.
Just like many art lovers in her audience, Brooks fell into a box of practicality when transitioning from child to adult. As a little one, she loved grabbing books from the library, sketching, drawing and painting the animals she discovered in their pages. But as she grew older and college loomed around the corner, society urged her to put her hobby to the side to earn a stable living.
Always able to communicate well with children, Brooks launched a successful and fulfilling career as a pediatric physical therapist. To assist her young patients with their therapy and rehabilitation, she often incorporated their pets into treatment – a relationship that would one day serve as her artistic muse.
“Animals and children are both so innocent, so guileless,” says Brooks. “What you see is what you get. There is no game playing, no sense of entitlement. Working with kids and animals, you only feel love and honesty and innocence. It’s so refreshing in the adult world.”
Inspired to revisit her youth
When her own disability forced her into retirement, Brooks revisited her childhood love of art and reconnected with the innate goodness she discovered as a therapist. She picked up her pencils and pastels and began capturing through art the untouched, untainted awe of animals and children that motivated her throughout her professional career.
Brooks doesn’t just create what she sees, she builds relationships with all of her subjects. It means getting down on their level and interacting with them, whether it’s studying the refined movements of a mountain lion or sharing funny stories to elicit a giggle from a child. It’s only then that she can openly, honestly and realistically express her experience on paper. Her subject may be humorous or striking or dramatic, but the end result is always intimate and inspiring.
Brooks’ pieces capture everything from the unadulterated freedom of an owl soaring overhead to a dog whose every pant and wag illustrates his love for his companions. She is able to seize on the wonder of a child, bright-eyed and naive, who explores the world as one with unlimited possibilities, unaware of the barriers that hold many of us back from our happiness. Or even the two together – pet and child – who feed off each other’s positive energy and build a strong connection with her audience.
The intersection of nature and art in daily life
While Brooks has dedicated her professional life to art for only a short time, she has already gained the attention of art lovers across the St. Louis metropolitan area. She is a juried member of the Greater St Louis Art Association, Best of Missouri Hands, American Artist Professional League, Pastel Society of America, and a member of Colored Pencil Society of America, and the Pencil Arts Society of America.
Her love of wildlife extends into her activism as well. She serves as a master gardener at Missouri Botanical Garden and is a volunteer with the Audubon Society at the Riverlands – all of which increase her admiration of nature and provide continual inspiration for her art.
Said Brooks, “When someone sees my work, I want them to smile. I want them to interact with the subject just like I do – at a very simple, very honest level. If we could all do that in every aspect of our lives, we would be less stressed and more at peace.”