“RETURNING HOME”
Gold leaf and Oil paint on wooden shingles.
Born in England in 1964 Sallie studied Fine Art (Sculpture) in the 1980’s. She left the UK in her early twenties to build a life in the Caribbean. She works in her studio in the Antiguan Rainforest. Over the years she has developed a unique way of working with gold leaf on wooden roofing shingles. Her imaginative and experimental paintings are grounded in a love of drawing, subjects include migratory birds, the rainforest dancer series and more recently figures in the landscape. The paintings exude a sense of melodrama of mystery and suspense. In 2008 she opened the Fig Tree Studio Art Gallery where she exhibits her own work along with the work of other established Caribbean artists.
“I am a full time artist living in the rainforest in Antigua with my family. I spend a lot of time in the garden with my friends & fellow artists. There is enough inspiration in this garden alone to keep me going for another hundred years. Over the years I have developed a unique way of painting with oil paint & gold leaf on wooden shingles. At first I was inspired to paint migratory birds, enjoying their long streamlined bodies flying over the landscape below. Then I developed a series of paintings of people dancing in the garden in patterned clothing called the ‘rainforest dancer series’. This developed into a new series of people working in the garden. I enjoy the shapes of the body at work using traditional gardening tools. The backgrounds were inspired by the garden. I love to share the beauty of the garden & the people I connect with through my work.”