Sally Podmore: Lush Green Landscapes
Canadian artist Sally Podmore draws inspiration from the lush greenery of Vancouver Island. With a deep connection to her natural surroundings, Sally focuses on capturing quiet, uninterrupted moments in the forest or along the water. Vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes permeate each canvas and leave the viewer with a sense of awe and wonder.
How did your creative journey begin?
My earliest and most fond memories are of hiding out in the laurel hedge beside our house making perfume in mason jars with my siblings, or collecting so many beautiful rocks and shells that I needed to wear suspenders to keep my pants up (not joking).
As a kid, I was always making something, and I had a lot of entrepreneurial hustle. I had several ‘businesses’ in childhood- painting mini murals on people’s nails, selling wreaths during the holidays and flower bouquets in summer. My favourite part of any school project was always always making the cover page or poster… I suppose that should have tipped me off, but in truth, it took a long time for me to figure out that being creative is at the heart of who I am.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I can honestly say, I have never struggled for lack of inspiration.
It is everywhere! The sky, the trees, the ocean, every plant and animal and human face! Just the way that sunlight travels over a surface, or music feels in your body.
Anything that grows and changes and is alive inspires me. I suppose the struggle that comes with that, is trying to stay focused long enough to thoroughly study and express something before getting distracted by the next shiny object.
That struggle is real.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
I feel the biggest change over time has been my confidence and a growing sense of ease.
Not ease in the sense that making work is “easy”, but in the sense that I am more able now to detach in some ways from the outcome and focus more on the process. I am able to lean deeper into my own personal voice now without worrying as much about comparing myself to other artists I admire.
The material way that this has been translated is that I am using more and more bright colors!
The same goes for confidence. My confidence has not inflated in an egotistical sense, but more so in the way of letting go.
I am ok to trash a painting gone awry without feeling down on myself, if something doesn’t sell, I am less likely to take that personally now. I am also more likely to say “no” now if an opportunity isn’t the right fit.
It is all quite liberating really.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
After getting my kids off to school, I start every day with a run or hike with my shaggy black dog in the forest near my house.
Moving my body is really key for me to feel settled and mentally clear enough to make my best work. I also get tons of inspiration out there.
After that I take care of computer/admin stuff over coffee at home when I am fresh because that is the hardest task for me.
As soon as I can, I bike over to my studio and paint until my alarm goes off to pick up the kids at the end of the day. Hours evaporate very quickly here, and I am still searching for more time to paint.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
I can not separate my work from the land that I live on.
I grew up in Vancouver, and now I live on Vancouver Island. The theme of salty air and lush green has been repeating all my whole life. There are several really special beaches and forests here that I feel are as much a part of my family tree or the story of my life as my human relatives. This place lives inside me and it inevitably comes out in all of my paintings.
Becoming a parent was the other huge shift.
Before I had my daughter, I was a high school teacher. Like most teachers, I worked a ton after-hours coaching and had long days. There was very little time for creativity - or at least - I poured my creative energy into teaching.
After becoming a mom and being on maternity leave, it was the first time I wasn’t in school, traveling or working. To be fair, having a baby is more than a full-time job, but it also felt clearly like a now-or-never type of moment. I made a commitment to myself to use every napping minute to paint, and had my first show when she was 1 at the coffee shop we visited on our stroller walks.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
OOhhff.
Instagram.
Love it. Hate it.
Can’t live without it.
Can we?
Like most artists, and people, instagram has been a bit of a roller-coaster at times. Aside from how I feel about the platform for society in general, I must say on the whole it has been very positive for me as an artist.
If I am fairly evaluating things, I am not sure I would be able to do this whole painting thing full time without social media. It is an amazing way to connect with collectors and other artists. I feel this double time because I live in a tiny town that I would otherwise really struggle for exposure in. Because of the miracle of the internet, I was able to open my own studio/gallery here in Cumberland B.C. population 4000 people. That’s pretty positive I’d say.
As a bonus, I have developed a little network of artists that I now have met in person and consider friends. Most of my work sells from the ‘gram at least indirectly.
So yes, as an artist, I love it. In small doses anyhow.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
My biggest goal for the future is to focus. This is always my biggest struggle as I am a real ideas person and want to do/make/create/envision it all. Having ideas and interests can be great, but I know that in order to do it all, I need to stick with what I’m doing right now. So focus. FOCUS-POCUS is my new mantra. Because let’s face it, for some of us, focus feels like pure magic.
With that mantra in mind, I want to keep pushing my paintings farther and forward, and onto a larger scale. I have been at this whole painting thing for 10 years, but I still feel like I’m just at the tip of the iceberg.
Eventually, I would love to move into some collaborations. Surface design, murals etc. I would be excited to take my painting into new mediums that can be shared beyond the canvas. I love clothing and fashion as it feels like art that you wear, so with the right fit, I’d be thrilled to move more in this realm eventually too.
Website: sallypodmore.com
Instagram: @sallypodmoreart