Sally Reichmuth

Medium: Oil Painting

CREATIVE BEGINNINGS. Sally grew up an hour outside of NYC. Her artistic journey began with the quiet occupation of drawing, but it wasn’t until college and exposure to diverse media — sculpting, printmaking, graphics and design, that her identity as an artist bloomed. 

ARTISTIC PATH. Sally pursued a degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in painting at a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania and finished at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia.  After a career in social work and a 20-year private psychotherapy practice in Hood River, she dove back into art full-time. 

Sally has had the opportunity to study with some wonderful contemporary artists such as David Leffel, Michael Klein, Stephanie Birdsall, Aimee Erickson, and others. She has participated in numerous local and regional art exhibits, and is proud to have a painting in the collection of Maryhill Museum of Art. 

INSPIRATION AND PROCESS. Sally draws inspiration wherever she sees light sculpting form or illuminating a shadow with unexpected color. “It is a phenomenon that most artists can relate to,” Sally reflects. “Once you begin to paint and focus on light and color, everywhere you look holds visual fascination. I paint still life, landscape, and florals and, when possible, love to work with the human figure.” 

Oil and gouache are Sally’s favored mediums. When she paints she finds herself in deep concentration. “The deeper my observation of my subject, the more the sense of separation between myself and my subject drops away. When separation dissolves, often there is something intangible that is translated to the canvas which becomes a vehicle for the viewer to experience what I was experiencing. In effect, my painting is a meditation — one that communicates a space for an experience to be commonly held.”

LIFE AS A GORGE ARTIST. The Columbia River Gorge has been Sally’s home for over 30 years and provides unending inspiration with its endlessly varied climatic moods and diverse environs.  She says “It is such a privilege to be able to paint at timberline on Mt. Hood and within the same day take in the vast vistas and geology of the eastern Gorge.”   Sally regularly paints en plein air and enjoys collecting bouquets from the local flower farms as subjects for her floral paintings.

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