Sandra Sanders

Sandra T Sanders is a formally trained artist and art educator living in the picturesque goldfield’s village of Clunes, Victoria. Growing up in Melbourne, and always interested in Art, Sandra completed a Bachelor of Fine Art, majoring in painting and drawing, and later completed teaching qualifications in art and design.

When Sandra is not happily painting in her garden studio, she is a busy full-time Art teacher. Sandra’s paintings celebrate the beauty of the natural environment and are inspired by an emotional response to the rural landscape. The rolling pastures, rounded volcanic hill forms, sublime cloud formations, and ephemeral weather transitions are a daily motivation. The ever changing relationship between the sky and land speaks to Sandra in a poignant poetic visual language that reveals stories and connections. “I’m a romantic. I feel connected to the landscape and painting it helps to strengthen the response I have to it. I’m drawn to the innate power, beauty and the timelessness of what I see around me.”

The sky is a key element in Sandra’s works. “My work always starts with an expressive sky. The passing cloud formations, the incredible colours and the changing light patterns prompt feelings and emotions that I endeavour to translate to canvas." As such, Sandra’s works aim to capture the essence of her subject matter, creating atmosphere and feeling, rather than an exact replication of what she sees.

Sandra’s process is methodical and thorough. “I start by taking many photographs as inspiration. I am particularly drawn to moody skies, especially early mornings and late afternoons. The incredible colours of the sky, the glowing light and way the light is reflected on the landscape is mesmerising during these times. I often think to myself “if I painted those colours exactly, it would look fake”.

Each painting is built using many layers of paint and a restricted palette of carefully mixed colours. Although Sandra has worked in oil paint in the past, she now enjoys the challenge of acrylic paint. “The push and pull of layering and blending acrylic paint is a real test. Every new painting is an experiment and a new adventure. I never know exactly how it will end.”

Sandra’s paintings evoke a sense of ‘the familiar’ within viewers. The forms, colours and gestural qualities are recognisable, like glimpses and memories of moments and experiences in our beautiful rural landscape.