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Rubbed Down Into a Fine Veil of Color

Writer: sharonkingstonsharonkingston

My paintings are not about surface, they are about depth.  They are not about defining, they are about leaving open a space for interpretation.  They don’t give answers, they ask questions.  And they are not machine made.

A frequent comment to me is that my paintings look like a giclee–an ink jet printed COPY of an original.  Absent in my works are the brushstrokes and textural elements of what people attribute to oil painting.  I rub that all away.  I thin my paint and layer my paint to create the spaces that transport a viewer into the nuances of color.  Texture is a distraction to this journey–as is line.  And yet, the precious handling of my surface and the almost perfection of the plane leads some to believe that a machine created it.  Not a defense I like to have to attend to when talking about my work.  Fine rubbed down into a veil of color should be an appreciation of my technical skill and less a comparison to an inexpensive reproduction.

But, people want to see that remnant of handmadeness because that equates to –what–originality, I guess.   And yet, they don’t want to pay for it.  I don’t make giclees of my work.  There is no way to photographically capture the subtleties in my paintings, and therefore no way to accurately reproduce my work.  An irony in this whole dialogue.

A Glow Perpetuating Itself Into The Memory, 36 x 36 in oil on canvas

 
 
 

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studio/gallery

open by appointment only

please call / text

360-739-2474 or

email sharonkingston@me.com

ALL SALES FINAL.

NO REFUNDS or EXCHANGES ON ORIGINAL PAINTINGS  and FRAMES.

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    Sharon Kingston is a Bellingham WA (Washington) based artist.  As an oil painter she uses the properties of her medium to create paintings that respond to both the atmosphere of her surroundings and poetry. This method of looking inward and outward and, in the moments of painting, finding her way on the canvas is her approach to creating paintings infused with poetry and the memory of landscape. The atmospheric element of her work is a testament to her desire to create spaces that are undefined, contemplative and allow room to reflect and accept uncertainty. Poetry, by nature open ended, is used both in the conceptualization of the work and as a part of the studio practice. The words of Rainer Rilke have informed Sharon’s work for many years, but she also turns to contemporary poetry when it resonates with her life. She uses layers of transparent color, reveals forms by concealing and unearthing pentimenti and suggests elements of landscape in her process.

    People describe her paintings as ethereal, atmospheric, contemplative, PNW inspired, and filled with light and mood.  She has a storefront art studio in downtown Bellingham and welcomes you view her paintings in person.

    SHARON KINGSTON STUDIO

    203 PROSPECT ST

    Bellingham WA  98225

    studio gallery 
    open by appointment

    please send me a text with the
    day and time you'd like to come by.
    360-739-2474

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