May 2019 Featured Artist
Playwright, Painter & Art Critic
Sandra Bertrand
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Sandra with Her Portrait of Louise Nevelson
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Sandra Bertrand has been immersed in the arts all of her life, as a theater actress, playwright, painter, photographer, book reviewer, editor and art critic. She was born in Bakersfield, California and has been residing in New York City for over three decades.
In theater, her accomplishments are numerous. Her plays include Manikin, The Transformation of Aura Ruanes, Days and Nights of an Ice Cream Princess, The Sentry and the Laughing Ladies and many others. Her plays for television include Chameleon and Coming Attraction. She has been an O’Neill Playwright Conference finalist and her plays have been performed Off-Off Broadway at the Courtyard Playhouse, The Viridian and elsewhere. Sandra’s artwork has been selected for solo and group exhibitions in Connecticut and New York. Recently, her portrait painting of Louise Nevelson was exhibited at the acclaimed Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM). She was elected to membership in the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) in 2014, the oldest women’s fine art association in the U.S., for which she is Public Relations Co-Coordinator and has participated in several of the organization’s anniversary exhibitions in New York. She is also a proud member of the Art Students League of New York. |
Sandra is Chief Art Critic for Highbrow Magazine and a contributing writer for GALO Magazine. Her journalism credits also include reviews and profiles for Our Town, A Manhattan Weekly, The New Orleans Review and Show Business Weekly.
She loves to travel abroad and spend time with her partner, Joanne, and her two cats.
She loves to travel abroad and spend time with her partner, Joanne, and her two cats.
Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, visited with Sandra and spoke to her about her vast and varied career in the arts and the inspiration behind just a few of her plays and paintings.
You’ve dabbled in so many art forms. What was your first passion?
Well…[Sandra laughs.]…let me start from the beginning.
I always loved to draw and paint, but in high school I was acting in plays. My admiration for the work of Tennessee Williams and other greats drew me to the stage. There were two theaters in my high school – which was very unusual. There was opportunity for both school performances and performances for the broader community. I was able to spend plenty of time during the day doing what I loved because a good portion of my schedule was spent in preparation for various productions.
Sandra attended a two-year college while pursuing various roles in theater productions. She received an Associate of Arts from Bakersfield College with a focus on English literature and theatre arts and was a member of the National Thespian Society.
I was the oldest and became a second mother to my younger sisters, so I grew up fast. At 19, I went to San Francisco with sixty dollars in my pocket. San Francisco was a hotbed of experimental and traditional theater at the time. I had a friend there who already had an apartment, and she offered for me to stay. I got a part in Sweet Bird of Youth, a Tennessee Williams Play. When I was in my second year of college, I moved to LA [Los Angeles, CA] to do temp work while I searched for auditions. I got a part in A Streetcar Named Desire [arguably Tennessee Williams’ most popular play] in Long Beach.
You know…you realize as you get older that time starts squeezing in on itself like an accordion.
Sandra explained that her desire to reinvent herself, to travel, to discover new passions always kept her moving forward, learning more, and seeking new opportunity .
At 27, I moved to New York City. It was the week Apollo 11 landed on the moon [July 20, 1969]. I remember gathering with hundreds of others in the street. There was a huge screen on 6th Avenue that allowed us to watch Neil Armstrong take his first step. You don’t forget things like that. And…that same week, my very first audition landed me a spot with a traveling theater company, so I was off to Albuquerque, NM and elsewhere.
And all of this early acting inspired a need to write your own plays?
I was shy as a young girl, but acting enabled me to come out of that. I became all of these different characters, and through this, I developed a good understanding of human nature.
In the early 70s, I was writing plays.
Sandra highlighted a few.
The Sentry and the Laughing Ladies (1974) was inspired from a painting I was working on. There was a shadowy figure in the background looking toward these three garish ladies…with their faces painted boldly. Suddenly, I had to put down the brush. I thought, ‘This isn’t a painting. It’s a play!’ Just like that…a story was already evolving in my mind…the scene was a bombed-out brothel. The play developed into a futuristic look at a time when there are no men left. The three garish ladies from the painting became women connected by their profession – prostitution – and were from three generations (one in her 20s, one in her 40s and one in her 60s). The play reveals their pasts and their fantasies, such as the eldest prostitute’s memory of a young lieutenant in WWI.
My play Chameleon was chosen for the prestigious O'Neill National Playwrights Conference* in the television category (1978). [The main character explored her sexuality outside of her marriage.] When we tried to get it produced elsewhere (both in television and theater), it was considered too edgy…too racy for its time. The producers were not ready for a play about a sexually conflicted woman. But this is what artists always find themselves doing…pushing the boundaries.
My Off-Off Broadway play Days and Nights of an Ice Cream Princess [Courtyard Playhouse, 1986] was a series of vignettes. The audience sees the main character's journey unfold as she matures into womanhood. She never speaks, though. Her muteness is a symbol of not having control over others’ perceptions of her. My partner, Joanne, [Stage name: Joanna Darski] was cast in the role. We’re still together after 34 years.
*Founded in 1964, the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is the country’s premiere institution for new play development. Every summer, six to eight unproduced works are selected from a pool of 1,000+ submissions for a playwright-driven workshop on the O’Neill’s campus in beautiful Waterford, CT. At every step in the process, the O’Neill strives to foster an inclusive, collaborative environment in which artistic exploration and experimentation is encouraged.
You’ve dabbled in so many art forms. What was your first passion?
Well…[Sandra laughs.]…let me start from the beginning.
I always loved to draw and paint, but in high school I was acting in plays. My admiration for the work of Tennessee Williams and other greats drew me to the stage. There were two theaters in my high school – which was very unusual. There was opportunity for both school performances and performances for the broader community. I was able to spend plenty of time during the day doing what I loved because a good portion of my schedule was spent in preparation for various productions.
Sandra attended a two-year college while pursuing various roles in theater productions. She received an Associate of Arts from Bakersfield College with a focus on English literature and theatre arts and was a member of the National Thespian Society.
I was the oldest and became a second mother to my younger sisters, so I grew up fast. At 19, I went to San Francisco with sixty dollars in my pocket. San Francisco was a hotbed of experimental and traditional theater at the time. I had a friend there who already had an apartment, and she offered for me to stay. I got a part in Sweet Bird of Youth, a Tennessee Williams Play. When I was in my second year of college, I moved to LA [Los Angeles, CA] to do temp work while I searched for auditions. I got a part in A Streetcar Named Desire [arguably Tennessee Williams’ most popular play] in Long Beach.
You know…you realize as you get older that time starts squeezing in on itself like an accordion.
Sandra explained that her desire to reinvent herself, to travel, to discover new passions always kept her moving forward, learning more, and seeking new opportunity .
At 27, I moved to New York City. It was the week Apollo 11 landed on the moon [July 20, 1969]. I remember gathering with hundreds of others in the street. There was a huge screen on 6th Avenue that allowed us to watch Neil Armstrong take his first step. You don’t forget things like that. And…that same week, my very first audition landed me a spot with a traveling theater company, so I was off to Albuquerque, NM and elsewhere.
And all of this early acting inspired a need to write your own plays?
I was shy as a young girl, but acting enabled me to come out of that. I became all of these different characters, and through this, I developed a good understanding of human nature.
In the early 70s, I was writing plays.
Sandra highlighted a few.
The Sentry and the Laughing Ladies (1974) was inspired from a painting I was working on. There was a shadowy figure in the background looking toward these three garish ladies…with their faces painted boldly. Suddenly, I had to put down the brush. I thought, ‘This isn’t a painting. It’s a play!’ Just like that…a story was already evolving in my mind…the scene was a bombed-out brothel. The play developed into a futuristic look at a time when there are no men left. The three garish ladies from the painting became women connected by their profession – prostitution – and were from three generations (one in her 20s, one in her 40s and one in her 60s). The play reveals their pasts and their fantasies, such as the eldest prostitute’s memory of a young lieutenant in WWI.
My play Chameleon was chosen for the prestigious O'Neill National Playwrights Conference* in the television category (1978). [The main character explored her sexuality outside of her marriage.] When we tried to get it produced elsewhere (both in television and theater), it was considered too edgy…too racy for its time. The producers were not ready for a play about a sexually conflicted woman. But this is what artists always find themselves doing…pushing the boundaries.
My Off-Off Broadway play Days and Nights of an Ice Cream Princess [Courtyard Playhouse, 1986] was a series of vignettes. The audience sees the main character's journey unfold as she matures into womanhood. She never speaks, though. Her muteness is a symbol of not having control over others’ perceptions of her. My partner, Joanne, [Stage name: Joanna Darski] was cast in the role. We’re still together after 34 years.
*Founded in 1964, the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is the country’s premiere institution for new play development. Every summer, six to eight unproduced works are selected from a pool of 1,000+ submissions for a playwright-driven workshop on the O’Neill’s campus in beautiful Waterford, CT. At every step in the process, the O’Neill strives to foster an inclusive, collaborative environment in which artistic exploration and experimentation is encouraged.
The Last Wave
Oil © Sandra Bertrand |
More recently you’ve been exploring one of your first passions – painting. How would you describe your style as an artist?
In general, I would describe my style as a merging or a wedding of different arts together. Your portraits exude personality and are extremely expressive. What draws you to your subjects? It’s a kind of alchemy. There’s an energy that emanates from the person. My objective is never to duplicate, but to transform that person to show their essential power. |
Sandra on her work: ‘My greatest passion is finding the ever changing vitality in my subject, whether an individual or a landscape, through the brush. My work is representational but suggestive, bordering on a reality that is subjective - even at times residing on the edge of abstraction - but , above all, immediate.’
For the NAWA exhibition in March 2018 titled “Celebrating Women,” I created portraits from researching different photographs that had been taken of all of these women over time. [Her portraits of Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Martha Graham, Willa Cather, and Frida Kahlo are displayed earlier in this feature.] The photograph used for inspiration for Faith’s portrait [Faith Ringgold Meets the Statue of Liberty] was taken on the Staten Island Ferry, sailing past the Statue of Liberty. I think it’s telling that she looks angry, but determined, here. [Ringgold is a well-known artist, author and Civil Rights activist.] My portrait of Louise Nevelson was recently exhibited at the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM) – this was another high for me. |
Faith Ringgold Meets the Statue of Liberty
Oil © Sandra Bertrand |
Your involvement with NAWA goes beyond membership, right?
NAWA has been a great source of support and networking over the last few years. I co-edit their newsletter (with Mimi Herrera-Pease) which reaches over 800 member artists. It’s in its second year of publication and has proven to be a terrific impetus to connecting members nationwide. I am proud of that.
A recent article Sandra wrote about NAWA’s “Transparency” exhibit at Arts Club of Washington appeared in Highbrow.
NAWA has been a great source of support and networking over the last few years. I co-edit their newsletter (with Mimi Herrera-Pease) which reaches over 800 member artists. It’s in its second year of publication and has proven to be a terrific impetus to connecting members nationwide. I am proud of that.
A recent article Sandra wrote about NAWA’s “Transparency” exhibit at Arts Club of Washington appeared in Highbrow.
Sunset Palms, Belize
Watercolor © Sandra Bertrand |
Has your discerning eye as an art critic influenced your work at all?
Paying close attention to the artworks of others is essential for one’s experience whether one is actually reacting as a critic or not. To study the great ones, or rather to immerse oneself in the act of seeing, can be inspirational and lead one to do better work in the long run. However, the trick is not to be so influenced, especially as one matures, that one’s own vision is compromised. |
Black Mountain
Acrylic © Sandra Bertrand |
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
Sanctuary comes in various forms, such as the intimacy of sharing time with loved ones (my partner as well as my two cats, who show me love every day). It comes in the form of travel, where the finite and the infinite can fill the same space in extraordinary ways, whether it's a solitary walk at sunset to an old familiar rock on Santorini or the first glimpse of Machu Picchu, an eternal city in Peru on a clear morning…or even facing the beauty and terror of a blank page or canvas and waiting to see what will appear.
Sanctuary comes in various forms, such as the intimacy of sharing time with loved ones (my partner as well as my two cats, who show me love every day). It comes in the form of travel, where the finite and the infinite can fill the same space in extraordinary ways, whether it's a solitary walk at sunset to an old familiar rock on Santorini or the first glimpse of Machu Picchu, an eternal city in Peru on a clear morning…or even facing the beauty and terror of a blank page or canvas and waiting to see what will appear.