Emerging Young Artist Sarah Carlisle - Summer 2009 Issue of Horses in Art Magazine

Emerging Young Artist Sarah Carlisle

by Sarah H. Crampton

Thinkin’ Outside the Box – Oil by Sarah Carlisle. Painted at age 13. “Charging out of the box, the rope horse has one purpose, one single objective. He focuses all his strength and hurdles his entire body toward his target with the absorption and concentration of a true athlete.”
“There’s a horse. It beckons and beckons. And I want to go , and I will.” This verse written by artist Sarah Catherine Elizabeth Carlisle was inspiration for a commissioned portrait she painted at the age of twelve. The portrait portrays the symbiotic relationship between a young girl named Alexa and her horse, Skipper. Carlisle titled the piece, Skipper of Her Heart.

Sarah Carlisle is now fourteen years old and lives on her family’s horse ranch on the beautiful Central California coast. An avid rider, Carlisle has first hand experience with the powerful connection between horses and humans. She explains, “Horses are like having a best friend. I have more fun with my horse on an hour ride then I have with my dog in a week. For me, horses can be personal in a way that dogs or cats cannot. Sometimes I would rather ride the whole day than to spend the day with my best friend.”

Something About Harry – Oil by Sarah Carlisle. “That mane! He makes me laugh! I thought Harry would be a good chance to practice painting hair and I had fun doing it. Harry’s tresses helped me learn to blend!”

Carlisle’s artwork is inspired by an equestrian event or adventure. “Horses are a big part of my life,” she explains. “It’s not like I haven’t tried landscapes or still life, it’s just that those subjects are not very appealing to me. There is no feeling, no meaning behind it.”

Carlisle often also translates her inspiration into words to accompany and enhance the viewing experience. For example, her lyrical inspiration for the painting Golden Eye is “Somehow the gold is not all.” The painting is of her horse Goldilocks who has very unusual eyes.” She claims, “Most people who look into Goldie’s eyes feel as though they are being sucked right into her soul. I tried to capture that feeling, I’m not sure I was successful, but then you can’t replicate nature!” For the painting titled Covered A Lot of Ground the companion prose is, “Fear not that your ride shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a beginning.”

Skipper of Her Heart – Oil by Sarah Carlisle. Painted at age 12. “There’s a horse. It beckons and beckons. And I want to go back, and I will.”

Currently Carlisle attends Hartnell College and will soon receive a degree in music theory and keyboard studies. She is planning to continue her studies at California State University and is funding that goal with the sale of her artwork, which includes original oils, limited edition prints, posters with inspirational messages, and note cards. For the art of Sarah Catherine Elizabeth Carlisle, the future looks bright.

You can reach Sarah by email at nancy@carlislegroup.org, or by phone 800-373-5317.

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