Sally Whelan – “Painter Sally” is a British figurative and portrait artist. She creates compelling works with a strong narrative and bold composition that provoke a feeling of curiosity from the viewer. Her daring use of a limited, abstract, and sometimes non-existent background, coupled with her ability to capture the very soul of her sitters, seems to cast her subjects adrift. With nowhere to hide, unflinchingly raw and vulnerable, her characters are caught in the spot light, idolized, and are powerfully unapologetic for the state we find them in. A witty charm and well observed sense of humor blends uniquely with a hauntingly dark undercurrent.

“Bodies, people, their stories, their skin, the hidden shades and depths, from the inside out, a fabric that is always changing. Never predictable, always challenging and something i feel compelled to depict."

Sally works predominantly in oil paint & utilizes a range of surfaces to paint on - “whatever the painting tells me it needs” - from chunks of wood found on beaches, forest floors and abandoned buildings, to old leather bags & metal street signs, from pieces of furniture, to the finest linen canvas.

Sally shows and sells her work internationally and also works as an Art Fabricator for the TV & Film industry.

The Goddess Sittings:

Sally is has been travelling throughout the UK and is currently on residency in the USA, working on a self realized painting project that evolved from a desire to paint new models and an Instagram post.

‘The Goddess Sittings’ - A project to document & immortalize the power and brilliance of women when we come together to share, support & create.

“I was blown away by the messages I received. All were from women, all different ages, very different characters and backgrounds, and all breathtakingly honest, upfront and spellbindingly interesting. They all shared this common thread of “Yes, I’m scared, yes, I’m nervous, but fuck it, this sounds like fun!” One lady put it beautifully: “To be captured as we are, to be remembered, to see ourselves as another sees us”. My heart skipped as I read their words. What I recognized in these women was the desire to join me in leaping wholeheartedly into the unknown. For the first time in a long time, I felt a connection with my fellow sisters. I felt heard”

The connection and trust, the eagle eyed artist and the Goddess sitter hold the space together in order for each other to soar. Each woman becomes powerfully present, willing, aware, and vulnerable at the very same moment. This creates an explosive encyclopedia of energies, connections, shared experiences and physical reference from which the paintings are born.

Full write up at www.paintersally.com

Instagram: @painter.sally