What's In a Line?

WHAT’S IN A LINE? 

“A line can do this here and it can do that there and maybe the line can be taken away altogether. What do you do with corners of a picture? […] Over the years I’ve done differs things at different times with corners…” Helen Frankenthalter 

In the above Frankenthaler (one of my favorite painters) quote is talking about the edges of a canvas. But, I thought this was a fun quote to start the blog with. It really conveys her style, her ability to make an audience see her work and feel what I can only describe as expansion. 

If you know my work, in (almost) every painting I have either a line, a circle, or both. 

WHY SHARONE? WHY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN!? IS IT JUST YOUR SIGNATURE!?

This is the main question I get from folks over the years. 

Sure, I guess it kind of has become my signature, but that was never the intention. 

If you read my first blog post, you’ll know that to me painting is capturing the essence of someone’s story and then translating it onto canvas. It’s tangible emotions, or an expression of memories and experiences through the abstract form. BUT, we cannot have these memories or experiences if we are not present for them. 

So, to me, the line or circle or both are what it is to be the person having the experience! 

"GOSH...ISN'T CATE BLANCHETT SOMETHING?!"

To Diver A Little Deeper: 

Where a line or circle is placed, subconsciously guides the eye on how to look at or experience the painting. It creates a story to interpret of how the experience was, well, experienced.

For example, the painting above is all about this one photo shoot from Vogue China that was done of Cate Blanchett. I found it to be so powerful and stunning and also overwhelming. As you see, the red is kind of engulfing. I am the circle, placed in the bottom half of the painting because of the magnitude of how the red feeling of looking at the Cate Blanchett photos felt like. The long teal line is basically Cate, or the Images. The thing that stopped me in my track. It’s a conversation inside of the experience of the red as a whole. 

That’s it! Those are my lines/Dots. 

Here are some other paintings of mine, what do you see? What story is being told to you!?

"That Moment Ruth Says, 'Take my hands...close your eyes..now feel'"

"The Beautiful Melancholy of Seeing Similarities Between Cities"

"To See You Sitting Across From Me In Your Hat Is The Most Beautiful View"

"I Constantly Think About What I Would Have Thought If I saw The Goodbye From 'Past Lives' From Across The Street"

"There Is Something So Intense and Stunning About The Way The Desert Glows"