Sophie Navarro Fine Artist

I started making art at a young age and have been promoting my artwork for more than 40 years, primarily in Eugene, OR. I have a passion for and gain inspiration from, fashion designs in old Vogue books. I love patterns, lines, and color. My process involves textures from mixed media such as stationery, tissue paper, paper flowers, paper butterflies, sparkling glitter, and brush pens. Now I am working with yarn and exploring needle punching and knitting.

As a child, I loved creating art alongside my mother and watched how she painted ceramic tiles in her own style. I would often look at how she painted her own designs and then I would try to mimic that flow. I started working with different mediums to explore my own designs.

My Background

I grew up in a multicultural family. My mother is from Paris, France and my father is from Rabat, Morocco. My roots are in Seville, Spain. French was primarily spoken at home. I value and appreciate my upbringing deeply. Both my parents are a big part of why I am an artist. They are both incredibly creative and inspiring.

I studied at the University of Oregon and majored in Fine Arts. I had an opportunity to study watercolor painting in Siena, Italy in 2000 and studied under Ron Graff and Carla Bengston. In Italy, it was there I truly learned the power of trusting the creative process by observing people, and landscapes, and how to build more values. Watercolor wasn’t exactly forgiving; however, I learned how to trust the process and learned from my happy mistakes. This led me to a deeper appreciation for the creative process. I also received my Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Design in 2003 where I focused on digital illustration and animation and my academic advisor was Joey Bargsten.

I also appreciated working with Ken O’Connell in 2017 where I worked on my internship with the EMU at the University of Oregon. I learned a great deal about the art collection at the EMU by participating on the Art Committee. In 2018, I received my M.S. in Arts Management. My research focused on how an artist can build a viable and sustainable business. The value that I received with this degree is the power of looking at your own community and discovering how important arts and culture are. I worked with Charly Swing for ArtCity Eugene, a wonderful arts organization that recognizes and validates artists in Eugene and Springfield. I learned about event planning, fundraising, and coordinating connections between artists, vendors, and musicians. Most importantly, I learned about the importance of networking and how crucial it is as an artist to continue to build new relationships with other artists.

When I find myself inspired in my studio or in a cafe, I enjoy drawing first in my journal to play with lines. I never know what I will create at first. The process gets my creativity going. When I combine this with listening to some music, that’s when things start to happen. Many of my paintings were started from my drawings and then worked into an acrylic painting or needle punching with yarn. I sell my art through Instagram and at the Eugene Saturday Market. I am also available for commissions, and graphic design, and now creating a new collection of earrings with my designs.

Thank you for your support!

Love, Sophie