Made in West Hartford by Sandy Welch
Written by Tracey Weiss
Photography submitted
Looking for that perfect gift for a friend or family member? A piece of art that moves you?
You don’t have to go far to find something you’ll love. There are so many talented people right here in West Hartford that may have just what you’re looking for. Here, we bring you one of those folks.
Sandy Welch’s acrylic designer shoe paintings helped her develop a following and the nickname “the Shoe Artist.”
Then her playful Cakes on Canvas series earned her more praise and a feature in The Hartford Courant.
Following that came her portrait phase, which consisted of colorfully fun versions of famous people.
Next up her vibrant, brightly hued interiors—scenes from rooms in Manhattan, Paris, Tuscany and Provence—took hold.
Like most artists, Welch’s phases are part of her ever-evolving work, mostly in acrylic or oil, and her love for life and color. As she says in her artist statement, “I paint joy in living color.”
These days, she paints abstracts. She calls artist Joan Mitchell one of her greatest inspirations, and she has the books from Mitchell to prove it. Welch is known and friends and co-workers for her incredible and vast collection of art books.
Originally from Cleveland, OH, Welch has loved art since high school, when she started taking art classes as a freshman. “My father was an artist. He loved cartooning and penmanship,” she said.
She spent two years at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and then went into the makeup industry, working over the years as an account executive for Clinique, Estee Lauder, Revlon, and Ralph Lauren, among others. She credits her years working in the makeup industry as the reason she now makes a living as a successful, fulltime artist. “It taught me so much about marketing and business, gave me a good basis. It’s a good combo,” she said.
When she first started her career in the makeup industry, Welch was living in Rochester, NY and was married, raising two children. After she and her husband divorced, she moved to Boston to work for Warner Lauren ( Ralph Lauren fragrances). Connecticut was part of her territory and that’s how she met her husband, Ron Welch, of 40 years. The two live in town.
Some may remember Welch as the owner of Nanny’s, a popular children’s clothing store in West Hartford Center, which she had from 1985-1990. After she closed the store, she went back to her career in makeup, working for Prescriptives, a line by the Estee Lauder Companies but she still had a passion for creating art.
“I would always say, someday I’m going to give it all up and be a fulltime artist,” she said.
And then one day, she took the leap.
“I was working for Clinique,” she said, which meant overseeing the women at the counter in the stores. At the end of one particular day, “I pulled into the driveway of my house,” she said, “and then I went in and said to my husband and said, ‘I must quit. I almost strangled a woman today (behind the counter). And I’m a nice person.”
Over the years, Welch has had studios at the Farmington Valley Arts Center and on Arbor Street in Hartford, but these days she paints in her favorite studio—at home—where she has the company of her dog, Mickey, and her cat, Maurice Matisse.
She uses social media to her advantage, and one day, Welch’s posts caught the attention of Carol Caplan, director of the Farmington Valley Arts Center. “She saw it and contacted me and said, ‘why don’t you teach here?’” Welch said.
Now, “I’ve been teaching for a couple of years. I do classes in painting with the masters,” Welch said, and she brings in some of the books from her collection. “The students find a photo and paint in the style of the artist. This gives them direction.”
She finds that teaching makes her own work better. “It gives me ideas and I make contact with people.”
What not easy to teach is abstract art, “When teaching I tell them, get rid of your fear. Don’t worry about the outcome,” she said. “You have to be free and trust yourself. I can see their shoulders come down when I say that.”
Over the years, Welch has exhibited at Gallery on the Green, The Conservatory at Camden Grace Interiors, for YSL Perfumes, Peppercorns Restaurant, and more. She was one of a handful of artists who exhibited at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City a few years ago through a company called Chairish Art Gallery. “My work was in the window on Madison Avenue,” she said.
Welch is a member of the Connecticut Women Artists, Inc. (an arts organization that has promoted and supported professional women artists since 1929), the Canton Artists’ Guild, and the West Hartford Art League.
She won Best in Show at the West Hartford Art League Members Juried Exhibit for her interiors painting, “Somewhere in Provence.” “It was such a wonderful surprise,” she said. “This painting was inspired from a trip to Provence a few years ago.
You can find her work through Saatchi Art, Chairish, Artfully Walls, Fine Art America and through her own website, SandyWelch.com.
Sandy's made a successful career out of being an artist, a role she loves, every day.
“I really like to paint,” Welch said. “When I’m painting all day, I feel like I accomplished something.” WHL
Go to SandyWelch.com for more information.