Sharon Field |
After careers in teaching and the civil service in various countries in the Pacific and Africa, Sharon Field embarked on her career as an artist in 2009. She has held eight solo exhibitions, four joint exhibitions with sculptors and ceramicists, has participated in many group exhibitions Sharon has enjoyed two residencies at Bundanon, the home of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd, and another at Studio Maelor in Wales. She was a finalist in the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, and was the 2017 recipient of the American Society of Botanical Artists ‘Anne Ophelia Dowden Award’, and an Award for Excellence from the UK Society of Botanical Art. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, the USA and Australia. Sharon’s subject matter recognises that while her subjects have a toughness that we can barely begin to imagine, they are still fragile and, in many cases, their future is uncertain. These tiny treasures all have a fragile beauty. Sharon’s work pushes the boundaries of traditional botanical art whilst maintaining the beauty and dramatic form of her subjects. Appreciating nature’s diversity and the importance of natural relationships in a rapidly changing environment is a fundamental underpinning to her artistic practice. Her subjects display the character and the scars of a life well lived, of a purpose achieved. There is always the image of a plant, the subject itself, while at another level is the metaphor – the passage of time, the aging of individuals, changing relationships, or the changes humankind is bringing about to our planet through uncaring or thoughtless actions. |