About Me

Rebecca Maria Sorensen

Artist Statement

Edgar Degas once said “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” All great art is driven by emotion, whether on the part of the artist or the spectator. Over the years, my artwork has evolved into a series of complex and integrated pieces of emotional expression. I believe that art should be the outward demeanor of the internal sensitivity.

I have found myself in the position to openly experiment with different mediums and textures. This freedom allowed me to express visually true, raw emotion in my artwork. Bold colors melding into a symphony of visual delight or muted chroma gently blending one with another in a serene convergence.

In all my artwork, I strive to emulate my belief that art should be a visual representation of some sort of internal conflict or strong emotion. I find the process of expressing my reactions to a series of traumatic experiences to be extremely therapeutic and empowering.

Artist Biography

My life in art had a bit of a rocky beginning. I had always loved to draw and paint, however, I never took the time to pursue my interest. It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I finally took my first art class. My art teacher was impressed, so much so, that he invited me to join the advanced class half way through the semester. I was then asked to sign up for AP Art Studio. I felt out of my league. Many of the techniques were far above my head, and I thought, my skill level. I persisted, and it payed off. I was able to submit a very rounded out portfolio and passed with flying colors.

After high school, I attended Snow College to earn my Associates degree. Besides my general courses, I took a heavy dose of design and drawing classes. One of my instructors was Utah artist, and local legend, Asrel Allred.

After graduating Snow, I attended Weber State University for one semester. I began branching out from just drawing and discovered water color and sculpture. Shortly after my first, and only semester at Weber, I gave birth to my first child. This part of my life is what I call 'settling down'.

A mere six weeks after my second child was born, my then husband called me on the phone to inform me that he had been having an affair. I filed for divorce not long after that. I found myself in the bowels of single parenthood, working a part-time job, and basically just struggling to survive. I enrolled at UVU and attempted to attend full-time, but it proved to be just too much for me to juggle. I took a course here and there with the intent to major in illustration. At the time, I wanted to be a children's book illustrator. I plugged away at this goal for a few years, but I finally decided that it just wasn't for me.

I changed my major to a general art degree with no real intent in mind. By switching to a general art degree, I had the freedom to take whatever classes I wanted.  I toyed with the idea of teaching art, but didn't want to go through the art education program.  I soon found my passion in painting and drawing.  I applied and was accepted into the BFA program.  I found my calling in becoming an advocate of the arts.  I organized and founded the Painting Club at UVU.  I joined the Utah County Arts Board and was nominated as the publicity chair almost immediately.  My future plans include continuing my work with UCAB and the Painting Club.  I also want to collaborate with the Utah Arts Festival to create a recurring Utah County Arts Festival.  I would like to eventually attend graduate school and earn my Master of Fine Arts degree.`