San Francisco-based painter Sandra Yagi explores our relationship with nature, the human condition, the fragility our bodies, and broader scientific concepts in her fantastical oil paintings. Some more lighthearted scenes show deformed creatures dancing and frolicking, garnering their own grace; skulls peeled back to reveal wildlife hint at our animalistic nature. At play are explorations of genetics and evolution.
Yagi explains the influences on her art in a statement: “Science, zoology, human folly and an obsessive curiosity for the macabre provide the fuel for my subject matter,” Yagi says. “My work is inspired by the natural sciences as well as by the traditional drawing and painting techniques of the old masters, including anatomical studies by artists such as Andreas Vesalius and Bernhard Siegfried Albinus.”
The artist worked for 25 years in the financial industry before tackling a full-time career in the arts. Since her art has been shown in galleries like beinArt in Australia, Bert Green Fine Art in Chicago, Bash Fine Art in Las Vegas, and several other spots. Her work is found in the collections of prominent art collectors and figures like Ben Stiller, Axl Rose, and director Lee Unkrich.
Oil painter 
We previously featured Australian artist 
Modern day mermaids, 
Calling his surreal paintings “suspended moments,” artist