Meet Sandy Thibeault

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandy Thibeault. 

Hi Sandy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Sandy Thibeault Teacher, Egg Tempera Artist, and Gilder

I have no memory of ever wanting to do anything else but draw, paint, and create things. In elementary school, I was the one who drew seasonal images in the corners of the chalkboard (yes, back then it was a black chalkboard, not whiteboard!). In junior high, all my reports had to have hand-drawn illustrations and, of course, were presented in a folder shaped like the subject matter. In high school many hours were spent planning the dance décor, being yearbook art editor, and attending as many art classes as possible. It was what I loved to do! 

I was fortunate to have parents who thought it was perfectly fine to go to an art college during an era when some thought art was a waste of time! My college years were interesting and challenging in that the popular genre of art in the late 60s was POP Art. My appetite was for creating realistic images and detail. It felt second nature. Thank goodness for my figure drawing and illustration courses…they kept me grounded in what I found exciting, and frankly, what I was good at. Finding shapes, discovering highlights, pushing back shadows, and applying the last few strokes, and watching an image snap to reality has always been fascinating to me. I guess my abilities weren’t totally disregarded because during my last year of undergraduate school, I was the one chosen to teach an illustration course at the Fashion Institute in Boston. Maybe that’s when I was inspired to teach! I received my teacher certification and taught junior high art for five years before leaving to raise a family. 

For years my artmaking took a backseat, and my creative juices were focused on my three boys and their school projects, plays, Halloween haunted houses, and more. I would occasionally dabble in all other media but…not painting. Painting was not at the top of my list because of the discouraging feedback in college. It’s amazing that words can have such long-lasting consequences (decades to be exact!). But I now wear it as a badge of honor: a lesson learned that affected my teaching…be kind and never discourage. 

Once my kids were in high school, I decided to get an M. Ed. in Creative Arts and taught at my kids’ high school, interestingly enough! My students were great, and many were successful state-wide award winners. Several attended art colleges and later entered creative fields. I was lucky to work at a school that afforded me the opportunity to design many different courses including Advanced Placement, felting, string puppetry, and of course, Egg Tempera. I curated art shows and was a Worcester Art All-State interviewer. Four students and I were members of our school’s China exchange program for eight weeks: learning the language, teaching, and traveling to every part of the country. The fact that my painting style in college conflicted with the conceptual art that professors were advocating at the time made me a more understanding and better teacher. I would always try to help students find and develop their own voices and not feel compelled to follow trends. I like to believe that I was a good Department Head and instructor. 

After my twenty-year teaching career, I decided that it was time to focus again on my own artmaking. I wish I had kept up with it more vigorously over the years…another lesson learned and always passed on. I encouraged my students to never backseat their passions whether it’s a career or a hobby. 

It was 1994 when I decided to dip my brush back into the painting world but on my own terms. I took a Renaissance painting class at my, coincidently, alma mater (chuckle). This is where my thirty-year love affair with Egg Tempera blossomed. It felt like home. Maybe I was born in the wrong era! My perseverance and self-knowledge of how I needed to express myself was affirmed. My paintings have since been exhibited throughout the United States and China and are in private collections. I have been humbled by many awards, most notably, New York’s Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club’s Gold Medal of Honor and Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Medal, Margaret M. Martin Memorial Award, and the Academic Artists Association Academic Merit Award. 

I’ve always admired the Old Masters and the Northern Renaissance painters. In college, I benefitted from two academic summers living and studying Renaissance art throughout Italy and Europe, reinforcing my interest and delight with the ancient techniques related to Egg Tempera. The craftsmanship and processes of these practices is an amalgamation of art, science, and history. 

So, what is Egg Tempera exactly? It’s a blend of water, egg yolk, and dry pigment mixed into a light creamy consistency. It’s applied to a gesso prepared board in thin translucent layers allowing the brushstrokes to dry in seconds. Versatile in its application and much like drawing with a brush, it can be applied in a variety of methods including sponge, brush spritz, and lacs (puddles). Hundreds of layers may form the paintings final surface. It is recognized as the second oldest medium after Encaustic wax. The Egyptian Fayum Mummy portraits (.50 BCE) are examples of Encaustic and Egg Tempera used in tandem. Egg Tempera reached its height of popularity in the Early Renaissance with artists such as Botticelli (The Birth of Venus). It remained the primary painting medium until replaced by oil paints. 

Traditional Water Gilding is the laying of thin sheets of gold (as well as other metals) on a properly prepared ground of Bole. The Bole has a glue content that will reconstitute when dampened and will grab and hold the chosen metal. While I usually use Grappa as my application liquid, water, Vodka, breath, and garlic juice are a few of the other traditional alternatives. Once applied and after a specific amount of time to dry, designs and lettering can be added via stamping, incising, sgraffito, and burnishing to a mirror-like shine. These techniques also allowed for the minimal candlelight of the Renaissance era to be reflected and heightened in illumination. 

Pastiglia is an Italian word that describes the paste used to create the low relief on my paintings. It is a traditional gesso often applied with a detail brush to create the raised portions. After it is dried it can be carved, sanded, painted with Bole, and gilded. 

Sgrafitto is another Italian word that means scratched. In general, an egg tempera paint mix is applied over burnished gold and allowed to dry. A gilded design may then be revealed by scratching through the paint. 

I am not attempting to alter the world order with my art! No matter the focus, whether a still life, landscape, or portrait, I expose things that matter to me. I can’t just paint to paint. I need to have a personal connection with my subject matter to find the motivating excitement or beauty. Portraiture has been my focus for the past few years. My intent is to capture the true countenance of the individual revealing personality and allure…not just a likeness. I combine realism with fifteenth-century aesthetics. My paintings are often embellished with traditional 24k water gilding enhanced with pastiglia, incising, and sgrafitto. Eggshells, gemstones, seashells, and other accoutrement…including bear knucklebones… are used to enrich my work and further develop the subject matter. 

I return often to Italy with fellow Egg Tempera artists to relish in the historical component as well as to further my practice in the Egg Tempera medium, as described in Ceninni’s Il Libro dell’Arte – the first “how-to” art book published in the late 1400s. 

Now retired, I paint almost every day (my husband says it IS every day!). I continue to learn and enhance my application of these wonderful and addictive ancient techniques. I continue to sell my commissioned pieces as well as offer adult classes and private lessons. Participants are offered my thirty-page book, Egg Tempera Painting: Tools, Techniques, and Tips. My students are encouraged to persevere; to be more self-forgiving, and to remember that creativity takes courage. It’s never too late! 

Originally from Massachusetts, my husband Al and I moved to North Carolina about ten years ago. This allowed us to be near our kids and grandkids and to say goodbye to snowstorms. Cornelius is a lovely location north of Charlotte and near Lake Norman. It has much to offer as well as the new Cain Art Center which will open in December 2022. The 32,000-square-foot performing arts center, includes a 400-seat theater, three classrooms, dance studio, and galleries, and will cover a 1.7-acre site. There are many surrounding towns with their own art guilds as well. Each promoting the arts by offering classes, shopping, and exhibitions. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve always been inspired by the Italian Renaissance artists, like Boticelli, and the long-lasting beauty they created via the craftsmanship employed with limited hand-made materials.  No local art supply stores! More recently, I have developed a great interest in the work of French academic painter William Bouguereau. He created an idealized world with nearly photo-realistic figures, but I see softness and enchantment. I am mesmerized in the presence of his work!

What do you like best about our city?
Originally from Massachusetts, my husband Al and I moved to North Carolina about ten years ago. This allowed us to be near our kids and grandkids and to say goodbye to snowstorms. Cornelius is a lovely location north of Charlotte and near Lake Norman. It has much to offer including the new Cain Art Center which will open in December 2022. The 32,000-square-foot performing arts center, includes a 400-seat theater, three classrooms, dance studio, galleries, and will cover a 1.7-acre site. There are many surrounding towns with their own art guilds as well. Each promoting the arts by offering classes, shopping, and exhibitions.

What do you like least?

For me, quitting is failing. I sometimes think I was born with an extra gene that allows me to always think, why not? and who says? I like resiliency and never giving up no matter how frustrating or intimidating the experience. I have always learned the most from my mistakes and difficult times. Perseverance propels you forward and ends up being quite fulfilling in the end.

Contact Info:

• Email: sandythi2@gmail.com
• Website: www.Sandythibeault.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Sandythi2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sandythi2 (Sandy Thibeault Studio)