Surprising, diverse mixed media art exhibition. Official Opening at 7pm by Di Kershaw,Consultant to People Working In the Arts.
Growing up on a sheep and wheat farm in central New South Wales, Sally West dreamt of living near the water and escaping the isolation for as long as she can remember. With 10,000 acres to roam she created her own world through imagination and began to record these visions through drawing. One day she left it all behind and moved to Bondi .Here her dream became reality. She finally woke up and fell asleep to the sound of the ocean.
Sally West then began an exciting personal journey of self awareness, reflecting on her connection with central New South Wales, she embarked on many years of travel through Europe, Asia, India, Nepal. These travels have become major influences for her exciting and evocative artwork. She always returned to Bondi.
Sally West’s exhibition The Journey (1998), held at Bondi Beach Pavilion Gallery, resonated with the spirit of travelers and thrill seekers flocking to the world famous beach. It featured her characteristic aqua colours, showcasing striking works in oil, pastel and charcoal. The show was a success, kickstarting an exciting career as a young artist.
Sally West has been exhibiting regularly ever since, mainly in Bondi, Paddington, Berry and Melbourne. However, Sally has found herself repeatedly drawn to exhibiting in Bondi. Only a year after The Journey exhibition at Bondi Pavillion, Sally showed a breathtaking new body of work.
Underwater (1999) held at Wadi Gallery in Bondi expressed the artist’s fascination with the feel and texture of water and what lies beneath it. Exquisite images of sapphire blues and luminous pearl were trade marks of that exhibition. Again, the show was a success.
Since 1998 the artist had a series of solo exhibitions at Love In A Cup, Bondi, intriguing the café society with her bold and exciting use of colour and form.
With her latest mixed media exhibition titled Reflections Sally West stays true to herself. The work reflects on the life changing experience of entering motherhood. There is much colour, vibrance and surprises in store.
“I am now a mother and it’s changed the way I look at the world, this has filtered through to my art. Therefore this exhibition is more diverse than previous shows. Raising kids is a challenge both physically and emotionally, hence I feel like I am challenging myself more and more with the paintbrush... pushing boundaries and trying different things,†Sally West.
“I have come to a point in my life where I feel tougher, perhaps from the experience of childbirth! Therefore I now feel ready to show my abstract work and I’m not as afraid of criticism. It is something that has always felt natural to create.â€
“I paint from the heart and what feels right. I hope people enjoy my paintings and find something they relate to.â€
Sally’s work is currently also showing at Gould Street Gallery in Bondi and the Flying Pig Precinct Gallery in Berry on the South Coast of NSW.
Sally’s work has also been published as prints by the international publishing house Artworks Publishing (Frangipani Diptych)
Sally has paintings in private collections all over the world and has been shown in international art events (International Works on Paper Fair and Cow Parade). Sally has raised over $50,000 for various charities through sales of her art at charity auction events which are close to her heart (IM Fashions Charity Event for Breastcancer, Charity Auction for Guide Dogs, Cow Parade for Starlight Foundation)
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