Finding peace in a paintbrush

Geelong resident Sally Herbert leads a busy lifestyle working as a paediatric nurse, disability worker, school nurse and a mum of three boys.

Among that chaos she finds peace in art, a hobby she took up after having children and in need of an escape, and has turned that hobby into Love Lennox.

“I’ve always been creative in different ways, but I always wanted to be a nurse, especially a paediatric or neonatal nurse,” Herbert said.

“The creative side of things kind of got a bit lost along the way because I was more focused on that and then it wasn’t until Noah was a newborn that I just needed something to do in the evenings.

“My husband used to play professional basketball so he would be out of the house multiple times a week in the evenings probably four to five times a week and I was bored.

Needing something else to do rather than watching Netflix, Herbert picked up a paintbrush and went from there.

 

The artist has a mix of styles, describing her works as abstract and not following one specific direction.

“I have a really varied range, it depends what mood I’m in,” she said.

“I do a mix of different floral artworks, but then I also do textured artworks that are quite neutral and a whole lot of alcohol ink artworks that are also very bright and energetic.

Florals have been a big inspiration, often walking past people’s gardens and stopping to take photos.

“It’s been a really big part of all my artwork, so anything floral really, whether it’s textiles, garden flowers or just colours that I see just going for a walk.”

Since starting Love Lennox a decade ago, it’s safe to say there has been plenty of changes for Herbert from her working space through to her artistic style and skill development.

 

Evolving from painting in her laundry or at the kitchen table, which was overtaken with canvases and art supplies, Herbert now has a space dedicated to her craft.

“It got to a point where we actually got a studio made in our garage at home,” she said.

“I’ve got a lovely space now at home that I can create and make a mess and it’s just a lovely space to come down to in the evening or when I have any free time.

“It’s a space away from my three beautiful, but crazy, boys and how hectic life is.”

While her style has also gone through some changes, there has always been an acrylic focus, mixed in with the trial of inks and now some textured artworks.

Herbert has also introduced earrings into her repertoire, an overnight thought she had and ran with, starting by making them for friends and family and as their popularity grew, adding them to her offerings.

“I love trying new things and I’ve seen people wearing beautiful clay earrings and I thought I would just give them a go,” she said.

 

As a completely self-taught artist, the majority of her skills have come from playing around with different materials and processes.

Acrylic paints on canvas have been a staple medium for the artist and over the years she has branched into other medium, with alcohol ink becoming a favourite.

“Alcohol ink, you literally pour it on either canvas or yupo paper and I move it around with a hand dryer just to create different colours mixed together,” she said.

“I love that with ink, you could use the exact same colours on say five different artworks, but it would look different each time.

“The play on colours, the composition of it, how they can blend together, it can look like a completely different artwork and you might be using the same three or four colours.

“It’s just a beautiful mix of inks together that you just don’t know what you’re actually going it get.”

 

For Herbert painting and working on her pieces is a change of pace in her life, a chance for her to do something calming and have some time to herself, the aspect she enjoys most,

“Working as a children’s nurse is obviously super busy and then home to mum life and all the chaos that brings but actually having time to just sit and paint and not think or have music going and be in my own little bubble.

“It’s trying to find that me time and even if it is only half an hour a couple of times a week, it’s just finding that time to get down to the studio and have a little play around in between work and night shift and all the other craziness.”

While Herbert would love to paint more and grow Love Lennox, nursing is where her passion lies and not something she believes she would be able to give up, leaving painting as her escape.

For more information, head to lovelennox.bigcartel.com