Sunday, at Five in the Afternoon
2003 pastel on paper
32" X 43"

A member of the Pastel Society of America since 1999, Sonya Fairbanks' work has been a subject in numerous publications, including feature articles in American Artist Magazine (2001), and Southwest Art (2005). Her art and life were also included in the documentary film American Waitress, premiering in 2002 at the Santa Fe Film Festival and since airing both on The Sundance and Independent Film Channels.

Sonya Fairbanks' work is included in collections, both private and corporate, throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. She is currently represented by The Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara, CA and by the Victoria Boyce Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ.

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, Fairbanks completed her Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors and Distinction in the Major in Painting and Photography at UC Santa Barbara in 1988. Fairbanks' early career focused on a narrative style, using varied mediums: color photography, printmaking and book making. She also served on the Board of the California Society of Printmakers in Berkeley from 1991 through 1993.

In 1994 Sonya Fairbanks moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she would spend the next ten years. The sparse beauty of the desert landscape encouraged her turn toward representing the quiet life of nature, by painting still life in pastel. Coming full circle, she now resides in her birthplace of the Santa Barbara wine country, with her husband and two sons. In addition to art and art history, Fairbanks' other passions include travel, hiking, bicycling, poetry, yoga, mysticism and feasting.