Jerome AZ (March 23, 2016) – Sharron V Porter makes her gallery debut in Jerome at Gallery 527 during the April 2nd Art Walk. Join the talented group of local artists for the opening of Sharron’s show titled ‘Landstracts”.
In her own words, Sharron explains her process. “Painting, for me, is an exploration of subject matter, content (the ideas the subject matter evokes), design, surface quality (texture) and structure. As some of my training and interest has always been with sculpture, I find my latest 2-D painting work is not only alluding to three-dimensional space, but has slowly grown off the surface of the canvas into actual relief.
My recent paintings, which I like to call “Landstracts”, are built up with shapes of foam core board, sometimes up to 5 inches or more above the base canvas. When covered with textured acrylic gels, the images start to look and feel like real rocks and trees; they have a more tactile looking presence. When I ramp up the colors and exaggerate the surface textures with paint, the resulting images take on an intended sensational, super-real appearance. I want the viewer to feel the awesome intensity of the natural world. I also love to include deep “holes” between the objects I am portraying – little caves of mystery and potential escape.
In order to find images that evoke this very physical experience of nature I am seeking, I spend a lot of time up close and personal in the environment with my camera. Instead of focusing on the grand view, I am interested in the immediate matter that surrounds, envelops me. If there is a cave, a crack, an obstructed view of sky, I am intrigued. The images I later retrieve in PhotoShop then become edited, cropped, colored, textured, and otherwise manipulated until I find something I want to explore further on canvas. The computer, for me, is an important tool for discovering the hundreds of visual options one image can supply. It helps me to see beyond my initial impressions and fine tune my vision.
The “thingness” of my paintings has become important for me. I often incorporate real rocks, branches, twigs, gravel, etc. into the work, wanting them to be valued as physical objects, not just visual, two-dimensional images on the retina. For this reason, I prefer not to make reproductions of my paintings. I want the work I create to not be readily digested and expendable, but rather to serve as a physical, informed presence for the viewer to spend time contemplating.”
Art Walk is from 5 to 8pm. Gallery 527 is located at 527 Main Street in Jerome. For more information,contact the gallery at 928.649.2277.