Sarah Ellen Frank    is a 26-year-old, Philadelphia-born, self-taught artist, cancer survivor, and graduate of LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. She was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2015. Since then, she has undergone various procedures, chemotherapy regimens, and radiation cycles under the care of PennMedicine's hematological experts. Her prognosis once stood at a 40% chance of cure.  She is currently in complete remission and will finish an immunotherapy treatment regimen that has been ongoing for almost two years.

 

Sarah discovered her passion for flowers as subject matter in 2011, at 19, when she was battling severe clinical depression. She derives immense comfort and joy from the bright, colorful compositions she imagines on her canvases. From the very beginning, she experimented using her fingers as paintbrushes--and hasn't stopped since. Every piece is created with acrylic paint and painted while sitting on the floor.  The delicate mixing and application of paint—start to finish—is accomplished entirely with the fingertips.  No easel is used.

 

Sarah draws her inspiration from classical impressionist artists, such as Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne, as well as modern-day masters of palette knife painting, such as Leonid Afremov. Her process, which typically includes 5-10 hours per piece, involves finishing her work with an acrylic-based gloss, which increases the liveliness and depth of color in her vivid paintings. Recently, she has broadened her subject matter to include colorful abstract compositions and landscapes, though she still favors full, radiant flower arrangements, which have always spoken to her on a spiritual level.