I have lots of reasons to be happy today: I just finished up a huge-o, never ending project at work, tomorrow is soup day which means tonight I’ll be in the kitchen making the first batch of potato & leek soup of the season, and most importantly of all, I get to share one of my very first Etsy favorites with you!
Two years ago (or so) when I first discovered Etsy, I came across Kirby. It was love at first Jane Austen portrait sighting!
Sarah and a few of her lovely paintings
Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Sarah and I am an artist and vintage seller living in Georgia. I’ve spent a lot of my life traveling around, and lived in Scotland for five years while I attended university. I received my two degrees in Art History and Museum Studies, respectively, and I do draw on both of them both when making art and selling vintage. I live in a very old house with my husband and my two cats.
Q. How did Kirby get started?
I discovered Etsy not too long after I graduated from university. I had always had a passion for art, and when I found Etsy, I knew that I had found the perfect outlet for my creative energy. I’ve alternated between this being a part-time and a full-time thing, though very recently I’ve gone back to doing this full-time.
Q. Your shop is so pretty! What is your creative process like?
It really depends on what is inspiring me at that moment. I spend a lot of time sketching and doodling anything that comes to me. Half the time my sketches never come to anything because I am a perfectionist, and sometimes I will think on a sketch or an idea for an extended period of time before anything ever comes of it. And then sometimes I will sit down in front of a canvas not knowing exactly what I am going to paint when I first start, and before I know it, I’ve created something.
Q. Do you have a favorite print to make?
It’s hard to choose, because each piece has a story and a personality to it in the same way that a writer becomes attached to a book character. “The Governess” has always been a favorite, but they all have some kind of significance to me.
Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
As a general rule, my day always starts with tea. I can’t think or create anything without tea. I generally will start my day by checking messages, checking on customers and orders, and figuring out a plan for my day. Then I descend into my studio for a few hours to work on new pieces as well as work on things that need to be done for my vintage shop. And then I will run my errands – post office, art supply store, thrifting, etc.
Q. What inspires you most of all?
I’m not sure I could answer that question with just one thing! What inspires me one minute can be replaced by something else the very next. Literature, history books, and historical clothing all speak to me and help me to form ideas for new paintings. And color – I love really great colors.
abby on 
Courtney on