Bio:
Sandra was born in Venezuela, and grew up in Trinidad having moved there with her family when she was five. She spent her teenage years in Aberwystwyth at a girls’ boarding school, before starting an extensive career in fashion that spanned over 30 years. Her career encompassed modeling for Vogue (photographed by the late Sir Norman Parkinson), Yves St Laurent, Zandra Rhodes and Meiling to becoming a highly skilled hair and make-up artist hired by Andy Warhol’s The Factory and Interview Magazine’s top celebrities and super-models.
Sandra has always been fascinated by the character behind the mask, which is revealed in her startling array of portraits. Self-taught, but guided by some considerable mentors: Bosco Holder (Trinidad), Patrick Betaudier (Paris), Andy Warhol (The Factory) and more recently Rafael Calzada (Mexico), Sandra’s style could be described as a blend of emotion and soul expressionism. Having spent her life travelling on fashion assignments, her subjects span the globe. Indeed the memories of the light and colors of Trinidad and Tobago, her mother’s birth place, can be seen as THE influence in her play with color.
Artist Statement:
My work has always been about the expression and colors of the human face. Each character is unique. I paint in acrylic, in sizes that allow the viewer to easily accept the subject as a reflection. I have always been excited by color and I like to juxtapose colors in ways that prompts the viewer to look deeper.
My palette is deeply influenced by my formative years in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s the bright sun; it’s the blue of the seas; the vastness of skies; the wide range of tropical flowers, fruits and skin tones.
I was fortunate to be mentored by Boscoe Holder (1921-2007), a Trinidadian painter, designer and visual artist. He encouraged me to be flamboyant and use color to emphasize my subject’s emotions. I paint spontaneously from my heart.
Exhibitions:
‘Black Love’ A group exhibition, Leonor R. Fuller Gallery, SPSCC, February-March 2022
Solo Exhibition, Olympia Arts’ Walk, Harlequin Theater, October-December 2021
SW Regional Juried Exhibition, Leonor R. Fuller Gallery, SPSCC – July-August 2021
Her piece ‘Henry’ received the Artist’s Choice Award
‘Closer’ Exhibition, Leonor R. Fuller Gallery, SPSCC – February-March 2021
‘Futures Rising’ A Group Exhibition, Leonor R. Fuller Gallery, SPSCC – October-December 2020
‘Pieces of Paper’ The Loft Gallery, Olympia March–April 2015
A Celebration of Art, Rumors, Olympia, June 2013
‘Inta Expressionism’ Pop-Up Art Café Exhibition, Olympia October 5th-31st 2012
‘CURVE’ A Group Exhibition’, Tenino Gallery May 2012
