Painting Series

People | Nature | Music | Animals

Over the past 30 years, Sharon has painted many subjects in a series format. The chosen topic results in works that stand alone on their own merit, but powerfully combine to tell a story. In each case the choice of subject matter dictated the medium, size and style that would best communicate the message. Some of the series have been as a one time project, while others, such as the draft horses have had numerous versions throughout her career.

Current Series - These series speak to the issues surrounding man and his/her relationship with animals and nature in today's world. Sharon's latest show, "Walk Don't Walk" was on display at the Ferry Building Gallery in West Vancouver in October and November 2007 and can be seen here as well. Monsters in the Garden is a web based internet show which runs automatically with music.

The Major Series are divided into the following topics with many series being in excess of a 100 paintings: People, Nature, Animals, and Music.

People  Sharon has always done figurative work, some more realistic, some more abstract. While living in Calgary, just above the city center, Sharon became aware that Chinatown was a treasure trove of people living a way of life that could soon be engulfed by the growth of the modern city. While a more modern Chinatown still exists in Calgary, the resulting series of paintings depicting the people living in the old town was well received and now captures a time lost. While living in Boulder, Colorado, Sharon became intrigued with the many characters that make up that colourful town. The series captures the individual nature of man in today's world of conformity. Time wandering Laguna Beach on the coast of California led to the Beach series. When Sharon moved to Vancouver, she had the opportunity within the same period of time to visit Europe and the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver which focuses on the history of the natives of the West Coast of Canada. The striking contrast between the depiction of Monuments and Pedestals from such differing cultures at the same historical point in time, led to this series. The Tribute series was done as a reaction and in respect for the artists that had had significant impact on Sharon's work.

Animals  Sharon has always been close to nature, having grown up on a farm. But her enjoyment of nature stems from a life long study of animals - be they large Draft Horses or the smallest Birds. The draft horses range from being comparatively realistic to abstract, and have been a series that has followed Sharon throughout her life, as she has tracked these animals from when they helped open up our country, to their role in today's society being loved and appreciated for their strength and enjoyment of hard work. Birds are an abiding passion for Sharon, as anyone who knows her comes to understand. They provide infinite enjoyment during a walk in the forest, before and after a day's painting. They also provide inspiration for many large and small abstract paintings depicting their place in our world. Only those who have attended a country fair would appreciate the fun that local children have in competing in the "Best Dressed Cow" contest. While residing in Calgary during the dotcom boom, Sharon saw an intrinsic link between the bulls that were so much a part of that prairie town, and the stock market bulls in the spiraling market. The result was the abstract Riding the Bull series.

Nature  Sharon's works of scenes from Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver represent modern man in today's world enjoying nature. Spring Flowers and gifts of flowers always result in paintings. Mother Nature is a whimsical series about the wonder of life and how we have come to be here along with her creatures and plants. Starting in 1976, Sharon's first comprehensive series were of her Alberta Roots. These subjects dealt with rural artifacts, and man's discarded tools, as they have been overcome by nature, and nature generally from Birch trees to mountain creeks and waterfalls.

Music  While Sharon has always enjoyed music, the introduction of the music video on TV generated many visual images of the singers whose words and music had impacted a generation - Sharon's generation. As a result of enjoying these first rock videos, the Rockstars and Prophets series was started. A half hour segment of the national TV show Much Music documented the show of the series which was held at a local public gallery. Another significant cultural change that impacted the world of art was the introduction of video games. While this phenomenon has reached far beyond "pong" and the animation of comic type heroes, the graphics and fascination of young people resulted in the Video Games series. Having taught art in various high schools, Sharon always enjoyed the students in their music classes. This resulted in the Stray Notes series.

The series continue, stay tuned...

A reminder: Just click on the Maximize button in the lower left corner of the photo album, to get a larger image, click again for the largest image without the thumbnails, to return select Minimize. You can also select the number of thumbnails to be displayed at the top left. By using the navigation buttons on the bottom, you can stop the slide show and go backwards or forward at your own pace. Enjoy!