I didn’t believe I was an artist to start with. I actually just did a painting and thought nothing of it until someone came in and purchased it. Being recognised as an artist is amazing. People work hard for what they do, for their money, for their families. And as artists we work hard. It may not be much, but when we get our stories on the canvas, at the end of the day, when you look at a finished art piece: it’s beautiful.
Melissa Sandy was born in Port Hedland and lives in Roebourne. Melissa’s mother’s Country surrounds the Millstream Tablelands, while her father hails from Adelaide. Her acrylic on canvas works are recognisable for their meticulous selection of colour, depicting her Country as well as narratives of personal meaning.
Melissa began painting with Yinjaa-Barni Art in 2006. Her artworks have been exhibited in group shows in Perth and the Pilbara, and in a solo show at Sydney’s Chalk Horse Gallery (2011). She has won several prizes at the Cossack Art Awards, including Painting by a Western Australian Indigenous Artist (2008) and Painting by a Pilbara Indigenous Artist (2018). Her work was acquired by Flinders University Art Museum (2014).