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Sally West

Sally West


Sally West was born in West Wyalong, Central New South Wales. West grew up on a farm and as a teenager moved to Eastern Sydney. Throughout her life, she has traveled across and lived in both Europe and Southeast Asia to gain inspiration for her paintings. Although her international journeys were influential on her style, the subjects of her paintings remain very close to home.

West’s paintings exhibit a compelling combination of texture, abstraction, and calming colors. The movement of the paint strokes on canvas is reminiscent of a light breeze or waves. This is communicated even more clearly with pastels and delicate shades of color in her artworks’ backgrounds. Within her artworks’ foregrounds, she sometimes opts for hints of brighter colors to add accents or simply continues with the same color palette to maintain the ethereal feeling.

Since West’s first breakthrough solo exhibition in New York in 2011, her artworks have become highly sought after internationally. She has won and placed as a finalist in numerous worldwide art competitions. Her artworks are exhibited with influential galleries across Australia as well as Los Angeles and New York.

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Sally West is a renowned Australian artist whose paintings capture the essence of the natural world in a distinctive and captivating way. Born in 1971 on a farm in West Wyalong, Central New South Wales, West developed a love for art and the outdoors from an early age. Her childhood experiences on the farm and her move to Eastern Sydney during her teenage years have greatly influenced her work, as has her extensive travel throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. She earned a Bachelor of Visual Communications at KVB College of Visual Communications in North Sydney in 1995.

West’s paintings are characterized by a combination of texture, abstraction, and calming colors with the movement of her thick paint strokes evoking the sensation of a gentle breeze or waves. Her use of pastels and delicate shades of color in the background of her works further enhances this effect. Some works utilize brighter earthy colors for a bright day, while others choose muted palettes for the wash of fog on the ocean or haze of the sun. West’s use of color is uniquely her own and conveys the feeling of comfort associated with vague familiarity. Although her travels have influenced her style and color palette, West’s subject matter remains very close to home, with sailboats and flowers featuring prominently in her art.

West is a central figure of the New South Wales and coastal art scene. Since her first breakthrough solo exhibition in New York in 2011, West’s artworks are highly sought-after internationally. She has won and placed as a finalist in numerous worldwide art competitions and juried exhibitions throughout her career. Her artworks are exhibited with influential galleries across Australia as well as in New York.  

Sally West is a renowned Australian artist whose paintings capture the essence of the natural world in a distinctive and captivating way. Born in 1971 on a farm in West Wyalong, Central New South Wales, West developed a love for art and the outdoors from an early age. Her childhood experiences on the farm and her move to Eastern Sydney during her teenage years have greatly influenced her work, as has her extensive travel throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. She earned a Bachelor of Visual Communications at KVB College of Visual Communications in North Sydney in 1995.

West’s paintings are characterized by a combination of texture, abstraction, and calming colors with the movement of her thick paint strokes evoking the sensation of a gentle breeze or waves. Her use of pastels and delicate shades of color in the background of her works further enhances this effect. Some works utilize brighter earthy colors for a bright day, while others choose muted palettes for the wash of fog on the ocean or haze of the sun. West’s use of color is uniquely her own and conveys the feeling of comfort associated with vague familiarity. Although her travels have influenced her style and color palette, West’s subject matter remains very close to home, with sailboats and flowers featuring prominently in her art.

West is a central figure of the New South Wales and coastal art scene. Since her first breakthrough solo exhibition in New York in 2011, West’s artworks are highly sought-after internationally. She has won and placed as a finalist in numerous worldwide art competitions and juried exhibitions throughout her career. Her artworks are exhibited with influential galleries across Australia as well as in New York.  

EXHIBITIONS
2022 Mosman Art Society Group Show, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2021 Artists of Mosman 2088 Group Show, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Spring Inside And Out, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra
Artists of Mosman 2088 Group Show, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2019 Affordable Art And Sculpture, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra
2018 Modern Art Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra
Florabunda, Gallery 307, Northbridge
2017 Artists of Mosman 2088 Group Exhibition, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2016 Two Views, Warringah Creative Space, Curl Curl
9X5 Exhibition, Julian Ashton Art School, Headland Park, Mosman 
2015 Mosman Art Society 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2014 Group Exhibition, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
Group Exhibition, Gallery 307, Northbridge
2013 Mosman Art Society Christmas Show, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2012 Red Dot Fair, Soho, New York
2011 La Magie Du Printemps, Gallerie 64, France
2010 Art Shopping Carousel Du Louvre, Paris
2009 Group Exhibition, Camden Art Gallery, London
2008 Ferrara Museum of the Estense Castle, Italy
2007 Out From Down Under and Beyond, Agora Gallery
2006 Fashion Moments, Art Moment Gallery, Bondi
2005 Group Exhibition, My Style, Tuncurry
2004 How Much Is That Doggie, QVB Building, Sydney 
2003 Tim Hill Stable, Swiss Grande Hotel, Bondi
2002 IM Fashions Charity Auction, MCA, Sydney
2001 Christmas Show, Wadi Gallery, Bondi Junction
2000 Rising Stars, Wadi Gallery, Bondi Junction
1999 Christmas Show, Wadi Gallery, Bondi
1998 Christmas Show, Wadi Gallery, Bondi
1997 Global Arts Factory, Global Gallery, Paddington

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021  Breeze, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Terrigal
  Sally West, Jag Gallery, Key West, Florida, USA
2020  PINK, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Terrigal
2019  Spring Colours – Sydney, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra, Sydney
Lizzie Beach, KAB Gallery, Terrigal
2018 Sally West, Art Images Gallery, Adelaide
All Sorts, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra, Sydney
2017 Surf & Snow, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza, Terrigal
Figurative Focus, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza, Terrigal
Around Town, Traffic Jam Galleries, Netural Bay
2016 Spring Sydney, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra,     Sydney
Sally West, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza, Terrigal
2015 Sally West Plein Air, KAB Gallery, Crowne Plaza, Terrigal
Here And There, Traffic Jam Galleries, Neutral Bay
2014 The Art Of Still Life, Fellia Melas Gallery, Woollahra, Sydney
2013 Impressionist Paintings, Fix 8 Gallery, Freshwater, Sydney 
2012 Sally West Solo, CAN Gallery, New Art Centre, Manhattan, New York
2011 Sally West Solo, CAN Gallery, New Art Centre, Manhattan, New York
Northern Beaches, Painters Gallery, Mona Vale
2009 To Broken Hill and Back, The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney
Local Landscapes, Moby’s, Pacific Palms
2008 Scarlet’s Web, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Melbourne
2007 What Comes After Drought?, The Charles Smith Gallery, Fitzroy, Melbourne
2006 Reflections, Art Moment Gallery, Bondi, Sydney
2003 Inside & Out, Hill On Hargrave Gallery, Paddington, Sydney
1999 Underwater, Wadi Gallery, Bondi, Sydney
1998 The Journey, Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Bondi, Sydney


AWARDS
2022 Lethbridge Small Scale Art Prize, Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington, QLD
Salon Des Refuses, Lethbridge Art Prize, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville QLD
2021 Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Regional Gallery, Campbelltown
Georges River Art Prize, Hurstville Museum and Gallery, Hurstville
ANL Maritime Art Awards, The Mission To Seafarers, Docklands, VIC
2018 Northbridge Art Prize, Gallery 307 Art School, Northbridge 
2017 Clifton’s Art Prize, Clifton’s, Sydney
Northbridge Art Prize, Painting Section, NSVA, Gallery 307, Northbridge
People’s Choice Award, Pro Hart Outback Art Prize, Broken Hill Regional Art 
2015 Mayor’s Prize, Waverley Art Prize, Waverley-Woollahra Art School, Bondi
2014 Painting Section, Hornsby Art Prize, Hornsby
Northbridge Art Prize, NSVA, Gallery 307, Northbridge
2013 Painting Category, Hornsby Art Prize, Hornsby

SELECTED ARTICLES
2013 Cover Story, Great Lakes Advocate, Australia, May
2011 Sally West’s Northern Beaches, Peninsular Living Magazine, March 2011
2010 “Pacific Palms Artist Exhibits Abroad”, Great Lakes Advocate, September 2010
“Festival Feeds Artistic Flair”, Great Lakes Advocate, June 2010