I’ve been a great admirer of the work of Sally Strand for I don’t know how many years. I think I discovered her work in magazines when I was just getting into pastels in the early 1990’s. I was intrigued by the figures in lawn bowling, their white clothing against green of the ground, their gestures as they discussed which was the winning ball, and had begun making pastel paintings of this subject. I thought I was being so original. And then a came across Sally’s pastels in probably The Artist’s Magazine. They were gorgeous!! And from then I have been in awe of her ability to create exquisite light in her paintings.

I met Sally Strand when I took a workshop from her in Montreal in around 2003 (?). The workshop was a great learning experience and I was pleased to find that not only was Sally’s work beautiful but that Sally herself was a delight. I will never forget spending an evening out with her exploring the allure of the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Okay enough chit chat. Let’s get to the good stuff. I was in Albuquerque at the beginning of June for the bi-annual pastel convention. Sally was there and I managed to grab her for a few minutes to question her about how to achieve beautiful light in paintings. Here’s what she had to say:

And here are a couple of pieces that show that beautiful light:

To see more work by Sally Strand, go to her website.     You can also read more in this interesting article.

I’d love to know what you think of Sally’s work. Please feel free to comment!!

Thanks for reading,

~ Gail