News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra stands beside a few of her painted canvases in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday. Sandra creates art using evidence-based design geared to make people feel happy.

ROGERS CITY — Dorothea Sandra creates art that makes people happy.

Sandra, a New England native now living in Rogers City, has showcased her art since 2018, but has painted since she was 7 years old.

“I was professionally trained by two seascape artists at 7 to 8 years old,” she said. “From a young age, I learned to mix the colors, how to use the palette knife, different brush strokes.”

It wasn’t until later in her life that she decided to push further and do more with her talent.

She began studying evidence-based design, a scientific methodology that measures the physical and psychological effects of a building’s construction or physical environment on its users.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco A floral painting by Dorothea Sandra is seen in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday. Her floral works have been popular internationally.

Evidence-based design has been studied for years and research shows it can help patient outcomes and can boost people’s moods.

“They now have the medical technology to study our brains on art,” Sandra said. “Looking back, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo sensed there were connections between the body and nervous system and art. Now, we have the technology and MRIs to actually see that connection. I decided I wanted to learn about it.”

Through her research, Sandra discovered ways to help people and produce paintings that make people feel happy.

“We were taught, ‘You have to make it as beautiful and realistic as you can,’ but I don’t do that,” she said. “I design for happiness, to trigger the brain for the brain chemicals — like dopamine — to be released.

“They’re all different,” Sandra added about her art. “But they all just have a happiness to them.”

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra looks through several bottles of paint in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday.

Sandra has always had a knack for helping others, as she previously worked as a teacher.

She previously taught intensive reading after being recognized for her talent to take something higher-level, like high reading and neuroscience, and break it down into easy, understandable terms.

“I was teaching middle school kids who had second- and third-grade reading levels and raised up their reading scores,” she said. “It’s not easy, but I just had a talent for it, and it was very rewarding.

“Kids were defensive at first, but, as we worked together, they were so grateful because they realized what a difference it would make in their lives,” Sandra said.

After she stopped teaching, she “just decided to go for it” with painting.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra sits in her Rogers City studio and reads her book, “100 Days of Happy Happy Art,” which follows her journey learning about evidence-based design.

“I come from an arts family,” she said. “My son is in graphic design … my cousin restored historical paintings. Some people can sing. We paint.”

So she moved to Northeast Michigan, turned her living room into a painting studio and her dining room into a space for graphic design, and went for it.

“It’s just a gift given to me,” Sandra said. “I’m happy while I’m doing it. I like to paint.”

Her happiness while painting radiates onto the canvas as she introduces new colors, ideas, and techniques into each piece.

“I was taught to make impact and drama, but, in evidence-based design, you don’t want to do that,” she said. “You don’t want to overstimulate. You want to create something happy, cheerful, and joyous.”

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra organizes her paintbrushes in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday.

Local residents took a liking to her work early on and have since shown great response to her work and what it offers.

A few years ago, at a store in Rogers City, the manager asked Sandra to display a few of her paintings to fill an empty room. Though she wasn’t thinking of selling from that location, Sandra said they “sold and sold and sold.”

Since then, her work has made its way into many galleries.

In May and June, she was a featured artist in Alpena’s Thunder Bay Arts Council. She also will be July’s visiting artist at the Dragonfly Gallery in Harrisville.

“I’m here because I like Northeast Michigan,” she said. “I’m in galleries downstate and elsewhere, but I love this area and the galleries here.”

News Photo by Torianna Marasco An abstract painting by Dorothea Sandra is seen in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday. Sandra loves to create abstract art, especially works that depict the movement of water.

Sandra said she has participated in several art events in the area and often donates her work to charities, auctions, etc. During Alpena’s Flower Festival, she participated as a live painter outside the local gallery.

“I go to Alpena for the culture,” she said, comparing the city to bigger cities like where she grew up in New England. “I call Alpena the ‘authentic arts town,’ because it hasn’t transitioned into the commercial art town.”

Sandra’s painting can be seen and purchased internationally. She said international charges are a bit higher because she likes to charge based on where she’s selling them. In small towns, she has lower rates, saying she wants to make her work affordable so people can enjoy that happiness.

“I do a marketing analysis and pick the art that people can afford,” she said about selecting pieces for shows.

Despite her wide success, Sandra said she is happy to be where she is and doing what she loves.

“I’m just a person, living in Rogers City, doing my thing,” she said. “Living in Northeastern Michigan has had a profound effect on my success. We’re surrounded by nature, the people are so nice, the quiet, the water — it’s just a great environment for art.”

Visitors are welcome to make an appointment with her to see her studio and all her paintings. See more information on her website, thewonderfulworldofdorotheasandraart.com.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra sits in her Rogers City studio and reads her book, “100 Days of Happy Happy Art,” which follows her journey learning about evidence-based design.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Paintings are seen hung on the walls of Dorothea Sandra’s dining-room-turned-studio in Rogers City on Tuesday.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco A floral painting by Dorothea Sandra is seen in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday. Her floral works have been popular internationally.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra sorts through some of her larger canvases on Tuesday in her Rogers City studio.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra stands beside a few of her painted canvases in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday. Sandra creates art using evidence-based design geared to make people feel happy.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Dorothea Sandra organizes her paintbrushes in her Rogers City studio on Tuesday.