Sharon Wilson

    The art of Bermudian artist Sharon Wilson speaks a universal language. It is the language of the human spirit. Through her pastels she explores and celebrates the best that is in each of us. Her innate ability to capture the beauty of ordinary events strikes a chord, rekindling warm, sometimes forgotten memories.

    Ms. Wilson is a figurative painter who has been working exclusively with Pastels for the past fifteen years. When asked to describe her motivation to work, she had this to say :

    "I wanted very much to paint children. I wanted to show my paintings to children. I needed to show them to black children most of all. I wanted them to look and see how beautiful they are. I wanted them to see themselves at peace, absorbed in the business of being children and dreaming very important dreams, and should their own lives lack comfort and safety, then I offer these surrogate images for them to hold on to."

    When I was young I pored over illustrations in picture books. I remember thinking about those children. I wondered about where they lived and what kinds of people they were. I looked at their surroundings and I wanted to step into the pages and be a part of that beautiful world. That much in me has not changed. I still view paintings of people in that way. I believe that children do as well. Painting has been a catharsis for me. I am satisfied that I have done the work of healing. I have given many slide presentations to school children, and taught nearly twenty years in public schools and I know that what I have done was important to do. I will leave behind something positive which I did not find. That in itself is motivation. I have been driven to produce these paintings. I have made an honest effort.

    Now I feel free as an artist to explore everything. There is as much excitement in the painting of fruit as there is in the painting of people. Art has always been therapeutic for me. It is a vehicle to touch the lives of people in a meaningful way. Today I recognize this as a gift, not to be taken for granted. I love what I do!"

    Ms. Wilson continues to live and work in Bermuda with her daughter Whitney. She is the illustrator of three picture books for children.