house paint, which she explains is practical, long-lasting and easy to use. One of her latest style experiments is painting intricate leaf patterns that have images embedded into them, inviting the viewer to look beyond the initial layer that meets the eye to see something deeper. “I like to play around with new styles; that’s something I’ve developed,” says Sally. “I’m very free to try new styles, because I haven’t actually studied art formally, and I think it’s allowed me to be outside the box. So many things influence me. “I’ve developed that [leaf pattern] style since I’ve been on the Coast. That’s only about 10 months old. It’s really cool, and really meditative to paint.” Perhaps her artistic diversity is also a reflection of her own professional and personal life experiences, which have been as varied as her painting. She grew up on a farm in the Adelaide Hills, where her parents gave her the choice between a television and a pony. She chose the pony, of course, and has never had a television since. On the farm, she developed a life-long love for nature and the land, leading her to later study permaculture – “a big turning point” in her life – and set up her own permaculture farm. She has also been a flight attendant, lived and worked in remote countryside on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, worked for a pottery business throwing pots, and run a successful event theming and theatre prop business in Adelaide. In between, she has also managed to raise three daughters – the youngest is in her final year of schooling – run an art school in an old jail in Port Adelaide, teach illustration, do multiple artist residencies, foster abandoned working dogs, and travel the world. 112
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Everyone has a story, and I find that I get so much inspiration from talking to people and asking them questions.
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While Sally’s art is undoubtedly valued for its aesthetic appeal, there is also a political edge to some of it recently – she describes it as becoming “more outspoken”. Her farming background has given her a deep insight into issues such as water security, for example, a subject she feels passionately about and which is reflected in a series depicting African women carrying vessels of water. “I’ve got a fairly strong opinion about water security and biosecurity in the country, or lack thereof,” she says. “That’s what that painting is about – women carrying water long distance; it’s all very normal for people in other countries, but if anything happened to the water supply here, people are so reliant on turning on a tap, they have no idea what it’s like not to be able to do it. “The only thing at the moment I can do is to paint, and see if I can raise awareness. I think these things need to be addressed more.”
SALT
6/03/2020 1:35:06 PM