Sally West Art – Beach Studies

Sally West regularly visits Freshwater Beach to paint en plein air. Freshwater, colloquially referred to as  “Freshy,” is a beautiful iconic Australian beach on the East Coast of New South Wales with great waves and white sandy shore. It is a significant location for surfers, as it’s where Hawaiian ‘Duke’ Kahanamoku famously carved a board from a piece of local timber and demonstrated surfing for an enthralled crowd in 1915. This event contributed to the popularisation of surfing in Australia – so much so that there is a life-size statue of Duke Kahanamoku on the northern headland to commemorate this historic event. It makes the perfect location for an artist to paint the surfing subject!

This is also a special location that is close to Sally West and her family. Past generations of Sally’s family have visited beautiful Freshwater Beach throughout their lives. Her mother, grew up in the area and fondly remembers her father carrying her to the beach on his shoulders as a child. While Sally grew up in rural NSW, she now regularly visits the beach to create more treasured memories with her own children.

Sally has found a particular position high up on a rock platform, giving her the perfect aerial perspective to paint the beach while overlooking the surfers and swimmers. She fondly refers to this place as her “hot-rock” as it’s best to visit on sweltering summer days when the water is blue and there are lots of beachgoers to paint.  Over the past few summers Sally has been working on an entire series of works based on this spectacular view. She says “I love painting the view, it’s constantly changing”.

The composition is organic, directed by the positioning of the surfers in the waves and swimmers enjoying the beach between the surf life saving flags and patrol. Her expressive application of oil paint depicts the water currents and water depths. You can admire her representations of the waves breaking on a beach, pushing water towards the shoreline. You can also see in her larger water studies the way that the water reaches the shore and finds a way back out to sea flowing downwards into deeper channels in the surf zone. These representations appear abstract up close but from afar the water paths become clear.

For this series, Sally West has painted beach studies in various sizes, each presenting a section of the aerial view. Canvas sizes range from 25x25cm miniatures to oversized 150x150cm pieces. All the studies can be displayed beautifully as single pieces or grouped together for a cluster hang.

This popular series has been celebrated across various social media platforms attracting international attention from the worlds top interior designers. Sally’s work has become the must-have item for any contemporary interior. You can purchase Sally West’s beach studies online here at www.KABGallery.com.au, and the KAB Gallery team will package and send your artwork with the most delicate care. There are easy domestic and international shipping options at the online checkout or alternatively call the Gallery on 1300 78 7773 (from within Australia) or +612 4384 7813 (from overseas) for further information.

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Sally West is a major Australian and International prize winning artist. 2024 was another great year of wins for Sally West, with commendations and finalist positions in almost every competition she entered. She is an Australian treasure who is internationally collected.

About the author

Kerry-Anne Blanket

Director & Curator - KAB Gallery

KAB Gallery’s Kerry-Anne Blanket holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and two Masters degrees (Hons) from the University of Sydney. With an extensive career in art education along with the management of museums and investment art galleries, Kerry-Anne can offer premier art consulting to her clients and source specially requested works. 

She has a keen eye for detail, comprehensive art market knowledge and a love of all things beautiful. Kerry-Anne works directly with artists and collectors alike to curate interesting and eclectic exhibitions.