As someone who feels most at home in the mountains and at the beach, the beauty and strength of the landscapes in my Mom’s paintings give me comfort. They have honestly shaped my appreciation for nature and the spiritual meaning I find in trees, skies, and oceans. My Mom’s ability to capture personality in her portraits has also inspired me in my own art.
Sandy Blass is a watercolour painter based in Calgary, Alberta, who finds her greatest creative and spiritual fulfillment through her work as an artist. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from the University of Calgary and training in watercolour at the Alberta College of Art and Design, Sandy Blass went on to pursue her favourite medium and has had her work featured in many solo and group shows over the years. Her major artistic influences include Lawren Harris, Toni Onley, and Mark Chagall.
Inspired by many years spent on Vancouver Island, much of Mom’s work centers on the powerful yet peaceful landscapes of the Pacific North West, its blues and greens bleeding out onto her canvases. The Rocky Mountains, big Alberta skies, and rolling hills of Israel also feature prominently in her paintings. Recently, her work has shifted focus slightly to include more portraiture and abstraction. Sandy Blass loves the freedom and flow of watercolour painting, which is clear in the unique style and harmony of her work.
When she isn’t painting, Mom enjoys spending time with me and my brother, having deep conversations about Judaism and spirituality, going on summer walks, and reading.
– Biography written by Sandy Blass’s daughter, Hannah Blass
What ‘hood are you in?
I live in SW Calgary, right along the south side of Glenmore Reservoir, where I grew up. Calgary is my city, my place…
What do you do?
Watercolour painting, mostly landscapes. Sometimes a portrait, or floral, even an abstract or two, though that usually bleeds into something more representational. But the western Canadian landscape is truly my muse. There is nothing like it. Its strength is overwhelming, and its variations endless.
What are you currently working on?
Right now I am working on a commission for a Calgary client, a micro-landscape. Just a few branches, flowers and a bit of shadow, very minimal. Not something I do often, but I like the change and the challenge.
Where can we find your work?
I represent myself, though my work is part of many personal and corporate collections. You’ll find my art at my website and almost everywhere on social media!
