I have been teaching art to primary school children for nearly ten years. As a teacher, I have often been inspired by the work of my students. Over the years, I have incorporated their observations and representations into my own art. I am also deeply inspired by nature. I feel that the modern Western World is complex and overly commercial. I have attempted, through my art, to rebel against the things that create stress in our everyday lives. My images are simple. And my art tends to have a “two-dimensional” look. I spend as much time on color and the creation of palettes as I do on painting. I rarely use colors straight out of the tube. The color blue in my work, for example, is the result of a process that may result in blue, a little bit of brown, a drop of white and a small amount of ochre. My palettes are hopeful to a certain degree: I want the world to be visually beautiful through the complexities of color and yet remain simple and harmonious. Finally, I am inspired by the works of Milton Avery, Paul Klee, and Mark Rothko. In each of these artists’ works, I see an emphasis on color over technique and subject matter. In my view, it is color above all, that defines the artist’s state-of-mind and feelings. Sarah Kinn