Growing up, Sandi Ritchie Miller's summers were filled with camping trips to the High Sierra mountains. That is where her interest in outer space began. She would lie in her sleeping bag and just watch the billions of stars in the sky and wonder about what else was out there. That love of the cosmos never left her. While studying for her BS in psychology at Arizona State University, she took a course in Astronomy. But really, she just wanted to paint the universe...or what she imagined the universe to look like.
Miller believes in using many media in various and experimental ways. For example, her Universe Series is done in mixed media such as enamel and inks and various chemicals on Plexiglas. The origins of the Universe Series were found partially in Voyager and partially in the universal wonder about space inherent in most of us. Through the Universe Series, her work has evolved into an subconscious “liquid painting” or automatic style which encompasses images of space, water and organics.
N. Elizabeth Schlatter, Assistant Director and Assistant Curator, University of Richmond Museums wrote,
Miller uses enamel paint on Plexiglas to create incredibly
smooth, glossy, abstract images. Globular shapes and waves
of color move across the picture plane as if in a cosmic dance.
Bursts of light provide loci of power, centers of radiation that
effuse energy and reaction...Miller’s seamless surfaces act as
windows into vibrant galaxies...yet her art is more fantastical
than anything a scientist has seen.
Miller's art has been shown in exhibitions across North America, Europe and Asia. The Farmington Museum in New Mexico recently purchased one of her space paintings for their permanent collection.
For more information, contact the artist at sdra1@hotmail.com
