“I paint where I want to be”: Artist Sally West on her familial and delectable coastal scenes

“I grew up in the outback,” explains Australian artist Sally West of her less-than-average upbringing. “My father is a sheep and wheat farmer; we lived on 10,000 acres and I was pretty feral to be honest.” Spending her days riding horses and motorbikes, “mustering sheep mostly”, Sally’s childhood was free – and with it came a lack of technology or, more specifically, just one channel on the TV, “and no paints!”

Then at the age of 12, she was sent to boarding school to get a ‘proper education’. Though resentful for leaving her farm life of freedom, this is the moment that she was first introduced to painting – and luckily, she found comfort in her art classes that served as an escape from her menial and “rigid” new way of life.

As it happens, Sally excelled in art. After school, she decided to travel for a few years across Europe on the quest to find out who she was. “I returned and announced to my family that I was to become an artist – they were not in agreement at all.” As such, a compromise was made and the budding artist had to complete a three year bachelor degree in visual communication. She never lost site of her artistic ambitions along the way, and would paint as often as she could throughout her studies. Then one day, her drawing teacher told her that she was an artist. “Those words changed my life,” she recalls. “I respected her as an artist and so I believed her; it allowed me to believe in me.”

Now, the mother of two spends her days in the studio painting while her kids are at school – but more often than not, if the weather permits, she will pack her painting tools and drive to a location where she will set up for the day. “It’s what I love doing the most,” she tells It’s Nice That. “I love being outdoors, possibly because of my childhood on the farm. It’s what feels most natural to me.” One spot that she regularly visits – and one that she finds particularly inspiring – is the sandy coast, the focus point to almost all of her paintings. On other days, when the weather turns bad, she’ll return to her studio, where she’ll happily work on a portrait. “I never sit still,” she adds. “My hours are roughly nine to five like everyone else, and I work six days a week – I spend Sunday with my girls, usually at the beach. They have grown up on the beach, it’s all they know.”

The beach is key to Sally’s process. Not only is it a prime subject matter to paint due to its rich colours and ever-evolving compositions, it also feeds various personal memories from the painter’s past. “When I was about 30 years old, I got married and moved up the coast to a small coastal village,” she remembers distinctly moment. “That’s where my children were born. We had 10 amazing years there before relocating to Sydney. Everyday was so simple; I had a studio attached to the house, there was one cafe, one corner store, one pharmacy, one bottle shop and not much else in the town. Oh, and an amazingly beautiful beach with incredible surfing and not many people on it.” Sally refers to this location as her home still, and they often visit for family holidays.

A treat for any aesthete, Sally’s paintings are quite something of a wonder. At a distance, you’ll recognise the familial scenes of the seaside, with strokes so detailed that each beach-goer has clearly been placed with intention, and a sea so blue you can almost jump into it. Edge closer to the canvas, and you’ll see a messy display of paint, splurged and smeared into position – the seaside is gone but there’s something there that remains recognisable.

As for the future, Sally’s plans will involve more landscapes and beach scenes, but she’s always tempted by a challenge. The heat, snow, city and country are all elements of the world that she loves and hopes to bring onto the canvas one day. “I paint what I am drawn to and where I want to be,” she says. “I have noticed that people often relate to the works because they are also places they’d like to be – I think most people like to be in nature, especially the beach.”