Sandy McMullen
A 14-day trip to Haida Gwai…the Queen Charlotte Islands… 500 miles north of Vancouver Island inspired Sandy to begin her exploration as an artist. The beauty and magic of this primeval rainforest was powerful… almost hypnotic. This experience awakened a desire that she had had as a child to express her joy and exuberance through colour.
She began her journey at the AGO in 1989, exploring the basics of line, shape and composition. Sandy continued to develop her own voice through workshops in watercolour, oil and acrylic at the Haliburton School of Fine Art and through the inspiration of many artist/teachers who opened doors to new ways of seeing. While she feels that it is important to her development to continue to work with other artists who inspire, challenge and support her growth, she also feels that it is equally important to spent time alone with a clean white page to let new directions surface.
Colour, texture, line and shape continue to fascinate and provide tools for Sandy to answer the call that each of us has to express ourselves in the world. Her work expresses the joy in the world around her, and often captures her love of easy summer days and the pleasure of everyday beauty. It took her many years to be able to describe what it is that she does and yet it is so basic – she paints about being happy and people respond to that simple message.