Sarah Dees is an accomplished artist and entrepreneur with over twenty years of professional experience. Her art reflects beauty and happiness, which enhances the quality of life. Sarah paints in acrylic and watercolor on canvas and paper, creates murals on interior and exterior walls, and enjoys fine art printmaking in her home print studio, including etchings and monoprints. She also creates illustrations and designs custom picture framing.
Sarah is a single mother of a 14-year-old daughter. She lives on the West Coast of Central Florida.
Sarah earned a full academic scholarship to Eckerd College beginning at age 16, having skipped two grades in high school. She began her volunteer work in leadership roles at Eckerd, as a Student Senator, an English tutor, and Director of the Student Activities Board. Sarah transferred to the highly regarded illustration program at Parsons School of Design in New York City, continuing on scholarship, earning her B.F.A. degree in 1982.
Sarah founded her first business, a wholesale art manufacturing and sales company, “Dees Design Graphics”, with her sister, Suzanna Dees, in 1983. Her paintings and prints have been published nationally, and Sarah built a successful business in wholesale fine art production and picture framing, specializing in working with interior designers on new buildings, renovations and in the hospitality field.
After a decade, when Suzanna Dees had to move, Sarah Dees continued the business as a sole proprietorship. Sarah was successful in completing her commissions on time and on budget. “Dees Design Graphics” was successful for twenty years, but Sarah closed the business in 2002, due to being badly injured when a truck hit her van from the rear on the interstate.
During the time she recovered, Sarah found a love of teaching, first volunteering, then joining the staff at Wellington School. Sarah taught performing arts and music classes, and worked on special visual arts projects. Her work included dance choreography, musical play writing, song writing, directing, teaching music, set and prop design and making costumes for school productions.
She worked at Great Explorations; The Children’s Museum as a teacher, also in visual arts and performing arts. Sarah has an affirmative and enthusiastic attitude, and a natural rapport with children, based on respect and positive reinforcement.
In January 2006, Sarah began a new home-based business, named “Sarah Dees Art”. She faced a battle with colorectal cancer later that year, but now is cancer free and happy to be starting over again in her career as a professional artist.
Sarah provides a myriad of art services. Sarah has been involved in many projects that benefit children as well as for health related causes. She continues her volunteer work for her community as she always has throughout her career.
