For artist Sandy Combs, painting is a true calling. Working in oils, watercolor, and pastel, Combs creates traditional representational works inspired by the landscapes, ranch life, and western heritage she has experienced throughout her life. Raised along the California coast, Sandy spent her early years surrounded by rolling hills, cattle, deer, horses, and the sea. It was only after leaving home that Sandy began living and working on ranches. She would embrace this rugged lifestyle for the next 10 years, an experience that would, in one way, become deeply woven into her artwork.
“Painting what you love translates onto canvas as a delightful emotion for the viewer,” says Sandy.
Her formal education included studies in drawing and painting with a minor in Animal Husbandry. But Sandy credits most of her artistic influence to studying the great masters in nearby museums and galleries. Inspiration exploded out of the Hudson River School painters, whose dramatic interpretations of wilderness and light helped shape her appreciation for landscape painting. Over time, her focus shifted toward western artists and their interpretations of ranch life, wildlife, and open country.
It wasn’t long before Combs’ adventurous spirit eventually led her to Wyoming. In 1987, Combs and her family relocated to Prescott, Arizona, where she found herself surrounded by one of the Southwest’s most respected art communities. The experience strengthened her connection to nature and deepened her understanding of the western lifestyle she now paints with a fierce authenticity.
Prescott proved to be an artist’s dream,” she says. “There was so much inspiration and so many talented artists willing to share their knowledge and techniques.”
For more than three decades, Prescott’s thriving creative culture helped refine her artistic voice. And even more recently, Sandy moved to Sedona, where the dramatic red rock landscapes have opened an entirely new chapter of inspiration.
Family heritage is as important to her work as the American West is. In truth, they’re one and the same. Her relatives arrived in Chino Valley in 1916 before moving south to establish dairy and crop farms, while another branch of the family has farmed in South Dakota for more than 125 years. Those agricultural roots, combined with her firsthand ranch experience, bring a genuine sense of place to her paintings. Whether painting landscapes, wildlife, or figurative western scenes, Combs focuses on capturing the natural contrast of light, shadow, shape, and atmosphere. Her work carries a quiet reverence for the land and the life surrounding it. And the one thing tying all these influences together is Sandy’s philosophy of faith. She says she aspires to convey God’s visible creation and natural beauty through her artistic interpretations. That gratitude is evident throughout her work. Her paintings are not simply visual records of the West; they are reflections of appreciation, memory, and lived experience. There is warmth in her brushwork and honesty in her compositions that invite viewers to slow down and reconnect with the natural world.
“If you ever see something behind me, don’t be surprised. That’s just goodness and mercy following me all the days of my life.”
Sandy always connected with this quote, and for her, the West is more than a subject. It is home, heritage, faith, and inspiration all at once. And she invites you to come along.
