We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Moran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have been drawing or painting since as long as I can remember. When I was really little, I would spend hours drawing horses and illustrating my own stories about them. In middle school and into high school, art class was always my favorite hour of the day. When I was 11 or 12, my dad and I started going to an oil painting class once a week, at the senior citizen center that was in a town about 25 minutes away. That’s where I learned many of the technical skills I still use in my oil painting today- for instance, did you know that to make the color black, you simply mix ultramarine blue and a burnt umber brown, and voila! Black as night.

In college I began studying as a painting major, and switched to graphic design halfway through, falling in love with that medium and opening up a whole other side of design I hadn’t explored before.

Years later, I found myself combining my original love for traditional painting, and the graphic design/tech side leading me into exploring digital “painting” as well. Just like oil or acrylic painting, I love making digital art. It’s just different and has it’s own pros and cons.

That is all to say, I have always been passionate about creating art and it’s something I have always actively pursued and made time for. I’m not sure it’s even an option for me, it’s just part of who I am – someone who loves creating.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love making art. Of so many types. I am a painter most of the time, but I’ve always loved playing with other mediums too: pastels, ink, graphite, multimedia, etc.

I’m very excited with where my brand, GingerPopStudio, is going. It’s really just getting started – but I have so many ideas for where I want it to go. It’s difficult, because I still have a full time job outside of it that is actually my day job. I’m a graphic designer at a marketing agency (Sage Marketing Group) here in Fort Collins. Which, I do love – but hope to someday have more time to dedicate to GingerPopStudio.

Here’s what I want people to take away from my art – a little bit or a lot, of joy. There’s a lot of darkness in the world, and always will be. We see the scary events on the news happening across our country, around the world, in our own towns even. And I want my art to a tiny speck in countering all that darkness. I want people to walk by my art, and see something in the colors, or the light, or the subject matter that makes them smile. Even if it’s just a tiny, internal smile. That’s when I feel like I’ve added a little bit of goodness to this world. Seeing other people smile when they see my art makes me happy. And I believe we should try and do more of what makes us happy.

I don’t need to be a world renowned artist. I just want to add some happiness to day to day lives of those around me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Fort Collins, so most of my favorite local spots are here in town. A couple of my favorite places to grab a drink or food are Avuncular Bobs, William Oliver’s, and then many of the local breweries: Rally King, Zwei, Odells, etc.

The Trial Gardens at CSU University Center for the Arts is one of my favorite places to go for a walk in the summer and fall. It’s just a massive, free outdoor garden full of hundreds of gorgeous unique flowers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely have to start by saying that I’m very privileged and lucky in many, many ways. My parents have always supported my dreams, and my passions of pursuing artistic endeavors.

To all my art teachers throughout the years, who taught me, guided me, and were generally great mentors – Thank you! You probably don’t even realize how much you meant to me.

My husband, Derek Moran, is also one of my biggest supporters – Thanks for always putting up with my endless afterhours “work” hours. 🙂

Website: gingerpopstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Gingerpopstudio/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gingerpopstudio

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.