The images that are incorporated into my paintings are symbols of life fertility and civilization – icons that have been an integral part of art in all cultures since primitive times. I assemble these images in ways that highlight their natural beauty and abstract form, and integrate or synthesize elements of modern art and folk art, nature and artifact. By balancing the simple and complex, I hope to create objects of contemplation that will attract the eye immediately and also reward subsequent examination with layers of meaning, with delightful color, with examples of human creativity, and with allusions to living well. Each painting is a synthesis of the varied cultural influences that have shaped my visual consciousness. When these influences converge in a painting, the ordered complexity that results is intended to convey a simple message: know you are alive.

For more than 40 years, Roger Sandes has produced figurative works on nature-based and art historical themes for private and corporate collections. His paintings incorporate symbols of life and fertility – icons that have been an integral part of art in all cultures since primitive times. Their natural beauty and abstract form are highlighted. Elements of modern art and folk art, nature and artifact, are integrated, balancing the simple and complex. The hope is to create objects of contemplation that will attract the eye immediately and also reward subsequent examination with layers of meaning, with luminous color, with examples of human creativity, and with allusions to living well. 

He says, “Mostly what I do is a take on a well-established genre. I’m doing the thing and reflecting on it, so viewers may see what’s there, which I hope delights them. Or if they’ve seen a lot of art and life, they may see references reverberating into art history.” 

Roger was inspired to become an artist during childhood visits to the Art Institute of Chicago. After studying comparative literature in college and acting at theater school in New York, where he met and wed collage artist Mary Welsh, the couple spent two years living, working, and traveling in England and France, as well as the major art centers of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, and Mexico. Those experiences informed his visual style. 

Roger has exhibited in galleries and museums across the US and internationally. His work hangs in thirty-two states, Washington, D.C., Australia, Burma, Canada, England, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Virgin Islands, and in numerous private and corporate collections.

Roger Sandes’s paintings are actually painted drawings. The colors are acrylic washes and glazes on gessoed mahogany or birch plywood panels; they look like silk and feel like eggshell. The luminosity of the colors is the result of their translucence. Each work is coated with acrylic varnish and is washable. He also paints the frames which are custom made to own designs and are integral to the work.

The cut-paper pieces are made with papers painted by the artist with acrylic, gesso and latex colors, then cut and glued on paper.