"I am passionate about my art. My desire is to express my feelings about the visible world in the language of paint." Painting directly from nature, Val Sandell's landscapes, still lifes and portraits are evocative of 19th century paintings. Her love of traveling has resulted in traditional plein air paintings of such beautiful areas as the Provence region of France, the wine country of northern California and the North Carolina mountains.
A native of Kansas City, she attended Avila College and the Kansas City Art Institute, both in Missouri. After her move to Florida in 1974, she studied at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Fascinated by the works of masters such as Diego Velasquez, Jules Bastien-Lepage, Joaquin Sorolla and John Singer Sargent, she sought skilled artists/instructors who could impart the principles necessary to train the artist's eye. She trained with well-known figurative artist Allan R. Banks at his Atelier of Plein Air Studies in Safety Harbor, Florida. There, she learned representational painting as handed down from the Boston School, named for some of the most skillful painters at the turn of the century. That training blends naturalistic and impressionistic styles with a solid foundation in drawing, which is evident in her work. To further hone her skills in working directly from nature, she studied and painted with nationally known artists C.W. Mundy, Dan Gerhartz, Frank Corso and Matt Smith. She attended a Plein Air Painters of America workshop in Vermont, working with plein air painters George Strickland, Ken Backhaus and Ralph Oberg.
Val Sandell has taught painting privately and to groups for seventeen years. Her work has been included in such national juried exhibitions as the Salmagundi Club and the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, both in New York City. Past shows include the Art Association of Harrisburg's Annual Juried Show, Palm Beach Art Galleries' Annual International Art Competition (Best of Show), Florida Art Center National 100, Lee County Alliance for the Arts 2D-3D Show, Southwest Florida Artscape, the Naples Art Association's Art Encounter (Best of Show) and the SFCC Museum of Art & Culture (Best of Show) in Plein Air in Florida.
Sandell's landscapes, still lifes and portraits hang in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her home and studio/gallery are located in Sarasota, Florida. She welcomes inquiries concerning both the purchase of paintings and commissioned pieces.
Galleries: Val Sandell Fine Art Studio-Gallery, Sarasota FL / Hughes Gallery, Boca Grande, FL / Finn Gallery, St Petersburg FL
Exhibits: The American Impressionist Society's '05-'09 National Juried Exhibition / American Women Artists National '05 and '07 Exhibition / Oil Painters of America '07 Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils / Boca Grande Art Alliance National Juried Exhibition, Boca Grande FL / Hilton Head Art League National Juried Exhibition, Hilton Head Island SC / CAC Biennial National, Punta Gorda FL / Cummer Museum of Art Ball~Art Exhibition, Jacksonville FL / "Paintout in Paradise", Venice Art Center, Venice FL / "Florida on My Mind", SunTrust Bank, Gainesville FL / "The Nature of Art in High Springs" Invitational Paintout & Exhibit, High Springs Gallery, High Springs FL / "Forgotten Coast" Invitational Paint Out & Exhibit, Gulf Alliance for the Arts, Port St. Joe FL / "Paintings of HSP" Visitors Ctr Gallery, Historic Spanish Point, Osprey FL / "American Society of Marine Artists" Juried Regional, Cultural Ctr of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth MA & Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol RI & Oct 24-Jan 4 Maine Maritime Museum, Bath ME / "Florida Biennial IV", Florida Museum of Art, Deland FL / San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival, San Luis Obespo CA / "Annual Maritime Art", Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay OR / "American Impressionist Society Annual", Saks Galleries, Denver CO / Salon International 2010, Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art, San Antonio TX
Associations: Plein Air Florida-Signature / National Museum of Women in the Arts-Charter Member / American Impressionist Society-Signature / American Society of Marine Artists-Signature (South Representative) / Oil Painters of America
Website: www.valartist.com
Contact: valartist@aol.com |
