sharon coles

Bestselling Artist

United Kingdom

My formal art education compromised of a two year a level, followed by two years of a part time degree, but this did not give me what I felt I needed. I left Art education, put away my paints and concentrated on raising my family. My lifelong love of Art and especially painting never left me, and with my family older, I returned to practising the thing I love, and began to teach myself.
My influences in my work largely come from the many years I have spent observing varying Artworks. The likes of Lucien Freud, Euan Uglow, Cezanne, Manet, Caravaggio and Rothko to name but a few of many. I read more ...

My formal art education compromised of a two year a level, followed by two years of a part time degree, but this did not give me what I felt I needed. I left Art education, put away my paints and concentrated on raising my family. My lifelong love of Art and especially painting never left me, and with my family older, I returned to practising the thing I love, and began to teach myself.
My influences in my work largely come from the many years I have spent observing varying Artworks. The likes of Lucien Freud, Euan Uglow, Cezanne, Manet, Caravaggio and Rothko to name but a few of many. I have studied how Uglow uses an almost obsessive and exacting measuring technique in his portraits and is a device I employ in my own portraits to really capture a subject precisely. This combined with the influence of Matisse and Rothko colour obsevations. Colour theory is one of my favourite subjects and I love employing such devices to really make a painting ‘pop’; the use of complementary colours such as yellow against purple, blue against orange and red against green really make a painting ‘sing’ especially from across a room- creating a real wow factor and focal piece. I have loved observing contemporary painters who use bold brush strokes in their works. I use this approach in my own works as I believe the use of bold, confident, striking brush strokes create a bold, confident painting that captures vibrancy, energy and a feel of life and continuancy in work. My subject matter is chosen to reflect this energy, Icons, whose personalities or achievements exude spirit, dynamism and pure life.