About

My work is shaped by my experience in the natural realm - years spent exploring wild places and abandoned urban landscapes - and by a passion for earth sciences.

Much of the work investigates change and the act of becoming.  I am fascinated with physical transformation in natural phenomena, whether on a geologic time scale or in a moment's reflection.  A winter beach, scorched riverbed, road cut exposing ancient seabeds, or the forces of wind and snow on a high Sierra conifer - all feed my imagination and sense of history.  I am equally compelled by human behavior and the transformative role we play in shaping our environment.  A longtime urban dweller and explorer, my daily walks and regional hikes reveal moments of mystery and discovery, informing my studio process.

Freedom guides my studio practice, working intuitively and driven by exploration, chance, and the physical characteristics of pigments, water, mediums, paper and canvas.  My process entails building a history of surfaces, forces and materials over time, working between what I feel and what I know.

Saundra McPherson lives and works in San Francisco.

Oracle Corporation, Redwood City California

Charles Schwab Corporation, San Francisco California

Chazen Museum of Art, Madison Wisconsin

2010 Winner, NRDC Environmental Art Prize  

2007-08  Folly Magazine  

2008 Studio Visit Magazine

Accepted to the National Association of Women Artists, New York  

San Francisco Art Institute Extension, and University of California, Berkeley Extension  

M.S. Non-Profit Art Management, Drexel University, Philadelphia  

B.S. Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley