Sharron studied Art and Art History at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Victoria. Through the middle years of family life and remunerative work she occasionally attended art classes and workshops but mostly worked on her own.
Although she is a landscape painter, drawing the human figure at weekly sessions is an important part of her practice for the discipline it requires and the opportunity it gives for honing skills.
Her work is centred in Sense of Place, that is, the connection between a person and a particular landscape. It provides a bridge between us and the world, sustenance for the soul, a spiritual and psychological anchor, and an awareness of the sheer intensity of life. The wonderful thing is that this is all accessible through direct perception of nature which is in turn the source of her art. Though her paintings are rather straightforward representations of Cowichan Valley landscapes her concern is the much more abstract idea of genius loci, the Spirit of Place.
She has become increasingly aware of the sanctity of our universe and the interconnectedness of all of creation. In making these pieces she drew on methods used by icon painters wherein the very process of painting becomes a meditation: it is necessary that the artist slow herself down, quiet the mind, be still and focus attentiveness on the subject. In this way one opens oneself up to the mystery, to the numinous.
She lives and works in the Cowichan Valley waking grateful each morning to look out on the good green earth.
