Visitors to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum on Saturday, May 10, will have the chance to commemorate Mother’s Day with a live watercolor portrait created in about 10 minutes by local artist Sara Martin.
No prior registration is necessary to stroll the grounds of the 43-acre waterfront estate, which includes a planetarium complex, or arrange for a portrait. Visitors can have a 5-by-7-inch watercolor portrait created for $20.
Weather permitting, Martin will demonstrate her live watercolor portrait technique from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the courtyard. In the event of rain, she recommends checking the museum website for possible relocation indoors.
“It’s just a great way to get people to come out to the museum, and they can come find me in the courtyard weather permitting,” said Martin, a Hicksville resident. “The grounds are just so beautiful.”
Although this is not Martin’s first event at the museum, she said Mother’s Day may encourage mothers and daughters to participate together.
“I think that people see this as a way to just have a unique experience as part of their celebrations or just having a fun day together,” she said.
Martin often snaps a photo as inspiration for the portraits, but sometimes subjects bring their own, such as from a recent wedding or other formal occasion.
A mother of two young boys, Martin said she begins each portrait with a fashion sketch, outlines it in ink, and adds watercolor.
“I try to really capture the clothing and the movement so if someone has a fun pose that they do, I’ll do that,” she said. “It’s really quick, and they’re not super-detailed, but the whole thing is I’m trying to really just capture a moment and the colors and just give people a memento from their day.”
Martin said her interest in art began during her childhood in Lynbrook.
“I’ve been painting since I was a little kid, and my mom tells me I would come home from pre-K and throw myself on the floor with paints and crayons and just color all day. It’s just something I’ve always loved,” she said.
She later worked as a graphic designer for 10 years at Molloy University in Rockville Centre, a job that led to her connection with the Vanderbilt Museum. After having her first son in 2021, Martin became a stay-at-home mother but continued painting.
“In my spare time, which is kind of rare, that’s when I really dove further into painting, and my live painting really took off,” she said.
Martin said she appreciates the setting of the Vanderbilt Museum.
“It’s such a wonderful place to go as a family and take in the scenery. You could spend the whole day there. There’s so much to see,” she said, noting attractions such as the Hall of Fishes and antique cars.