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Sally Swatland was born in 1946 in Washington, DC and moved to Greenwich,

Connecticut when she was seven. Her father was a successful attorney, which
allowed her family to spend long periods in the countryside with many vacations
at various seaside locations throughout the United States. She shared a passion
with her family for beaches, sunshine, and fresh air. Most summer days were
spent at the beach playing in tidal pools, chasing minnows, collecting shells and
exploring.

Sally has two sisters who were also encouraged to study drawing, painting, and
anything that developed creative expression. Throughout her childhood and teens
she painted and drew constantly, developing skill at observing and recording the
world around her. She started painting when she was five. Throughout grammar
school, high school and college she was always enrolled in art classes. She has
always had a passion for art and loves experimenting with color and light.
°fter graduating with a degree in Fine °rt from Mount Saint Vincent College,
she went on to study formal figure drawing for six years (1969-1974) at the °rt
Students League of New York. There she studied under Robert Shultz (the
illustrator who continued Norman Rockwell's tradition and became famous for
his illustrations that graced the covers of many Zane Gray books).

During the summer months Schultz held numerous ˜
 classes on

landscape painting in the New Jersey countryside where Sally would
religiously drive long distances to attend.

Sally married in her mid-twenties and painted her first 'beach scene' while she
was pregnant with her first child. Sally remembers the time quite well: 



   
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°fter the birth of her first daughter, Noelle in 1975, she spent many summer
days at the beaches around Greenwich, Connecticut. She would take Noelle
and her friends to the beach during the summer months. There she would
capture children on film in all types of beach activities. Her favorite images
are of children playing in tidal pools, yielding light filled and colorful
reflections.

When her second daughter, Katie, was born in 1981 she continued the daily
summer visits to the beach - adding a new model for her work. The groups of
children who gathered to go to the beach grew in numbers and as Noelle and
Katie got older, the family would travel to beaches in the Hamptons, and to
various beaches in Northern and Southern California. Sally would carry a
variety of colorful clothing and an assortment of hats to the beach and she
spent a considerable amount of time searching for the right beach apparel.
There was a significant amount of bribery that went on between Sally and her
children so that they would co-operate in what she now calls her 'beach dress
up photo archives'. The children knew it was a way to acquire further summer
treats and gain extra benefits; the children knew how to gain favors - it was
all quite amusing to Sally. Her beach photo sessions would always draw a
crowd, especially the young children, which allowed her access to even more
models.
During the winter months Sally would spend her time painting portraits with most
of her commissions coming from referrals, however her love was the summer
images on the beach. Today, while she still receives many commissions for
portrait work, she has turned her attention to her carefree images of children
playing on the beach. Sally uses her extensive 'beach dress up photo archives'
as inspiration for her warm and colorful images of childhood.

Sally has exhibited in the Hudson Valley Juried Show; was selected to paint the
Governor of Connecticut's Christmas card two years in a row; has had a number
of one-women shows in Connecticut and is involved in numerous charities. Each
year Sally donates works to: Brunswick °cademy, Greenwich °cademy, Lime
°ssociation of Fairfield County, Putnam Indian Field School and Sloan Kettering
Hospital (°merican Cancer Society) so they may be auctioned off to raise funds.

Currently Sally is a member of the following Societies: °merican Impressionist

Society; °merican Society of Marine °rtists; °merican Society of Portrait °rtists
and the Cape Cod °rt °ssociation.
 
 

     

  

 
 

  
  
   


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