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In 1969,
Salina’s family moved to North Carolina, where she was to spend the
next twenty years. She was very fortunate, when she was growing up
in that she received creative encouragement from her family. Salina
received classical training through the public school systems,
beginning when she was 12. Her career as an artist and student of
the horse really began when she was age five as she rode her
cousin’s pony, when she stayed with them in the country, until
Salina’s parents purchased a home in Charlotte. Once she sat on that
pony, she knew this had to be a part of her life. In Charlotte,
Salina began to draw horses and other animals that she saw on the
television. Salina’s first official drawing of a horse had about 50
legs, she marched into her parents living room, proudly displaying
the drawing as she held up to show her daddy who smiled and said
‘But why does he have so many legs’. To which a young Salina
replied, “Because he is running!” From then on animals in motion,
especially the horse, became her obsession.
In the seventh
grade, she was introduced to contour and gesture drawing. Salina was
able to expand her studies in “advancement art”, in her years in
high school. Being similar to a college level art class, she and her
classmates studied everything from figure drawing to still lifes and
art works for shows.
Today Salina
typically spends about seventy to eighty percent of her time in the
planning phase of her art. To Salina ‘drawing is the foundation for
everything. She does many, many drawings before the paint even
touches the canvas. Salina feels she has to have an emotional link
with her subject without any manipulation. She strays away from
“sappy” or “cute”. If Salina can move someone with her work, then
she feels she has done her job.
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