Sharon Kearn’s body of artwork ranges in subjects and reflects her love of coastal areas, small towns, historic buildings and sprawling landscapes. Her original paintings, illustrations and limited edition prints can be found in galleries as well as corporate and private collections along the east coast. Currently her newer pieces depicting ocean seas have incorporated more action and movement, which is a marked departure from her earlier more static work. “She has created this metaphor for her own life in these seas and that is the part of the beauty of it,” Raymond Voelpel, owner of Tidewater Gallery in Swansboro, N.C., said. “She invites others to engage in something we all experience. Without realizing it, we respond in positive or negative ways because people might feel that the work engages or frightens them based on their own experiences that they bring from turbulent times.” In fact, painting hasn’t always been a part of Sharon Kearns life. “I did not know I could paint fine art until I sat down one day to do something special for my sister,” said Kearns. “And, I was truly amazed at the outcome of my efforts. I decided to try another painting and I was equally amazed at something that seemed so beyond what I believed to be my own ability.” Ironically, although she has always had a creative flair and a desire to illustrate, she holds no formal artistic training. Kearns graduated from St. Mary’s College in 1981 with an associate of arts degree and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business communications. Her artistic background began as an advertising account executive for The High Point Enterprise, a local newspaper. When a position opened in the art department, she approached the advertising director about a possible move. “I asked him to give me a chance as a staff artist,” Kearns said. “But, I also wanted to make sure I could have my old job back if for some reason the new staff artist position didn’t work out.” She stayed in the art department, building a solid foundation in graphic design and illustration skills, as well as learning to blend and print color. Family moves prompted a career shift to sales, but Kearns Her freelance work evolved to higher end design projects and illustration work. Clients included companies such as Aussie Hair Care Products in New York City, N.Y., Glen Raven Mills in Burlington, N.C., and Greater Charlotte Biz magazine in Charlotte, N.C. Kearns’s work also extended to architectural renderings and illustration commissions, which included schools, homes, churches and historic buildings. “Commissioned artwork often allows me to experiment with topics and styles I may not have tried otherwise,” Kearns said. “I like working on new concepts-- it is like putting a puzzle together for the first time.” One of her commissioned limited edition prints was presented to former President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Concord, N.C. in 2000. The work is displayed at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta, GA. Her strong composition skills, infused with both imagination and realism, transports viewers to remote and overlooked places like an abandoned hunt club on the North Carolina coast or a beach path well worn by children’s footprints.
Her ultimate goal is to create artwork that evokes emotion, passion and a sense of wonder for those that view her work. “So, I continue the journey, tapping into a gift that I am still trying to understand.”
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maintained freelance projects to fulfill her creative drive. From illustrating steeples for a church catalog, to painting a logo on a basketball court at a local health club, Kearns found ways to keep art an integral part of her life. “At one point, I even established my own hand-painted linen company,” said Kearns.