LOCAL ARTIST CREATES WEARABLE ABSTRACT ART

By Branda Gorgies

Photos: Left: Model at Runway Chardonnay Fashion Show at Trevi Hills Winery; right: Dawn Sebaugh

July 1, 2023 (Spring Valley)—Dawn Sebaugh is a local artist who wears, lives, and loves her art in every way. Sebaugh, creator of “Wear Art, Live Art,” has a unique twist to her art: for every painting, she creates a fabric to match. Her slogan is "Wear art, live art, love art."

When creating her pieces, she starts with a blank canvas and it all “just sorta happens,” she says. She develops an idea of what colors to use, and never names her paintings until they’re finished. She names her pieces based on what she perceives, but acknowledges her abstract art is all about “what the individual sees.” Abstract art allows people to open their minds and creates a unique interpretation for everyone, Sebaugh adds. One person might see a butterfly, another might see a galaxy, and the same person can even see different things if they turn the canvas or change their perspective. It’s all up to the individual.

Sebaugh makes abstract paintings and rarely dabbles in other art styles. She says the colors “excite her” and make her happy, and that there’s so much emotion in her abstract works. Sebaughhas loved colors since she was a child; she “never colored in the lines.” She eventually started working on matching clothing pieces, simply because she was bored and never enjoyed having the same outfit as someone else. She realized that if she made her clothing based on her original paintings, no one would ever have the same outfit.

While she sells clothing, home decor, and accessories on her website, she also sells them at her shows. Since her art brings emotion to her, she wants the same for her buyers. That’s why she’s a bit apprehensive about selling her items in shops and boutiques; she wants to know that her art fits her customers well and that they enjoy it. In her words, “It’s all about making myself and others happy.”

Charity is a big thing for Dawn Sebaugh. She regularly donates her paintings and other items. Her fashion shows are often in collaboration with different charities. Recently, she had a show at the Trevi Hills Winery in Lakeside. The show was fundraising for music therapy for veterans with singer Floyd Armstrong as live entertainment.

Sebaugh also does photography;, East County Magazine has published some of her photos. She writes for Local Umbrella Media and published a book of her abstract art in 2004. Her next show is in September, and it will be held on a yacht, a new opportunity for Sebaugh.

You can view her creations, shop and learn more at her website:  https://wearartliveart.com/.