Sally Hayden Von Conta

Born in Illinois, Sally Hayden Von Conta grew up in Florida. Following Fine Art Scholarship studies at the Leech Art School in Sarasota, Florida; at the the Instituto Allende in San Miguel, Mexico; and in Montana, she pursued graphic design studies at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design, both in New York City. This culminated in a 25 year career in advertising as an Art Director in New York. Arriving in Santa Fe, NM in 1986, Sally quickly became established as a mixed media Fine Artist, with numerous one-woman shows and National and International Exhibitions. Since 2001, she has been working in Plein Air Pastels and is seen in National and Museum Exhibitions. Sally's work can be seen on her website, on the Pastel Society of NM and the Plein Air Painters of NM sites.		"Golden Prayers"
"Five Ranges of Love" 19 x 35" framed
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"Heart's Reflection"
22 x 28" framed

"Morning After"
22 x 28" framed

"Chamisa Glow"

22 x 28" framed

Von Conta says:

"Take a campstool, paper, pastels and your lunch.
Then go anywhere!
If it's windy, stay in town.
If it's cold, go south.
In the winter, take along hot tea and brandy.
If it's hot, go to the mountains or a river.
Sometimes in July it snows.

Wherever you go, your heart goes with you. Walk around and smell the air, listen to the trees or rocks. Ask yourself what pulls your heart to sit at this particular spot. Is it the light, the patterns or just that it makes you happy? Then pick up your pastels and begin to paint.

What happens is always a conversation between you and the landscape. In pastel, you have 10 brushes (10 fingers) so it's great to see what they can do. The end result is always a surprise. As an artist, I am the last to know what will happen. At its best, you become so much a part of the landscape that you disappear. I like the adventure.

When I see my finished pieces, I remember the heat on the rocks and the sound of the bees on the wild roses - it's all inside the painting."