Mostly a self-taught artist, Sally defines her work as imaginary landscapes that are abstract in nature. As you view Sally’s art keep in mind that you will not see traditional approaches, although that does not mean she ignores or undervalue techniques of mastered or famous artists. She values seeing, experimenting, and learning from another artist’s expertise and process; yet she believe it is essential to develop her own style. It is this belief that has guided her throughout her journey.
Sally began her journey as an artist by first learning the art and craft of making pottery. She then explored printmaking for several years, and found herself wanting to work directly on the printed image. Subsequently, Sally realized she needed the freedom to explore images on canvas; this gave her the immediate opportunity to change and respond to the image as it transpired, access her imagination and visual memory, and explore the use of color and shapes to somewhat guide her creative process. Sally’s recent paintings lean towards more abstract landscapes, and her earlier works represent a fascination with the densely built, colorful, and ancient European towns. She uses acrylic paints on her canvases in three basic forms: diluted, dry brush, and viscous (straight out of the tube consistency.)
Sally draws inspiration for her images from the many European villages she has visited over the years; but she also absorbs the immediate landscape around her, taking in the ocean’s changing moods, the Port Townsend waterfront, and the Pacific Northwest skies that rapidly change as the weather shifts. Sally’s work is also inspired by her travels to areas of natural beauty.
Sally’s semi-abstract monotypes are printed with water soluble ink on archival paper. Manually pressed,
the final print has a painterly effect resulting from painting onto plexiglass with ink and transferring the
image to paper. A monotype is unique in that it is transferred to paper only once, as compared to other
printmaking forms where an image is etched or carved onto a plate, inked, and transferred several times
to paper to make identical prints. Various materials can be used in addition to ink to create an image,
such as leaves, string, and found materials that can add texture or semi-abstract subject matter.
Over the years Sally has been inspired by Helen, Frankenthaler, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Paul Klee, Kandinsky, Escher, Picasso and Bob Ross. Local artists in Port Townsend also provided their expertise and approaches to making art that supported her drive to continue creating. Say’s Sally, “I’d especially like to thank Martha for her expertise, encouragement, and teachings that have been invaluable in helping me develop a body of work I could call my own.”
If you are interested in purchasing a painting, don’t hesitate to contact Sally either by email or phone. She also has business cards available at the gallery.
email: salmont.pt@gmail.com
