Sharon Ould

Biography

Hello, my name is Sharon Ould and I'm a self-taught artist, born in London, now living on the Isle of Wight, England.  I’ve been painting and drawing since I was a child, when I look back I think it must have all started when I won a box of paints after entering an art competition at the age of 13.  I can recall I was thrilled to receive this lovely box of paints and I guess that's where it all began. I love to paint, it’s my passion and as a result have decided to pursue my dream and try to make a success of my artistic skills. I think it is to do with the feelings I get from the initial excitement of seeing something that inspires me, through to the meditative state that can sometimes be achieved whilst actually painting and then the rewarding buzz that I get from seeing the end result appear in front of me. I suppose in some ways it’s become an obsession, I always have the urge to paint. If I’m not painting I am usually either thinking, reading or talking about painting, I think I was just born to paint! Painting makes me happy and I love it when my work evokes a reaction, a memory or makes other people happy. My inspirations come from the countryside and my everyday surroundings, usually when I’m out walking or driving I notice a scene that will catch my eye and arouse a reaction within. I will usually try and record it either instantly on my camera or go back later and capture it and get very excited as the idea ‘dances’ around in my mind and I often can’t wait for my painting time, where if I get into the right frame of mind, the picture seems to flow out of me and somehow almost magically paints itself. I have recently started experimenting with a palette knife using acrylic which I have felt quite liberating, I like the fact that there isn’t always the precise control of the paint that you can achieve with a brush, in contrast to my past detailed watercolour artwork my work has become more impressionistic in style using this approach. I like it because I feel my paintings have become more spontaneous and expressive, giving vibrant and raw effects. Favourite artists that I am a particular admirer of are Joaquin Sorolla and Edward Henry Potthast, I love how they captured the effects of the sunlight and gave their vibrantly coloured pictures ambience and feeling. Thank you for visiting my page. I hope you enjoy looking through my work and I invite you to follow me as I embark on my artistic journey.