Sally works from her studios in London and on the island of Guernsey, where she was raised. She paints in oils on linen and occasionally uses gilding as a way of highlighting certain elements of her work. Her main interest lies in figurative art and portraiture, but her work also engages with the environments in which people are present. Her work has a loose, rough, yet realistic feel.
Having trained as a portrait painter at London Fine Art Studios and Heatherleys School of Fine Art in Chelsea, her work is rooted in traditional atelier methods, but with contemporary palette and language that has developed over time. While most of her work is based on sittings from life, she has also worked on many historical pieces that are based on black and white photographs.
Sally was awarded the Heatherleys Portrait Prize in 2019 by Daphne Todd OBE and later that year she had her first solo exhibition at the Gate House Gallery in Guernsey. In 2020, she was selected to exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and with the ING Discerning Eye exhibition in London. In 2021 she exhibited with The Society of Women Artists in London. In 2023 she was also selected to exhibit in the ING Discerning Eye exhibition and The Channel Island Contemporary Art Show in Jersey, Guernsey and France. She has also exhibited in numerous group exhibitions in London, Guernsey and Alderney since 2015.
Sally has completed several notable commissions for private individuals and galleries. These include two commissions that were organized through the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London. In addition, in 2020 she was commissioned by Art for Guernsey to paint Czech war hero Jaroslav Novak as part of its cultural diplomacy project. It was unveiled by the Czech Ambassador in Guernsey and at the Czech Embassy in London. She also completed a commission for lePassage Gallery in Alderney of Dr. Nicola Brink MBE and her hospital colleagues Leah Peck and Aimee Coleman. The painting was unveiled by Nicola Brink at the opening of the gallery’s summer exhibition.
Image copyright Etienne Laine