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About sharongilesart

A former medical librarian and online researcher, I have always been interested in art. There's two major parts to my life: the artistic side and the techie side. ​ My artistic training includes basic courses in college and local classes with with prominent artists: Cecy Turner, Naomi Brotherton, Maureen Brouillette, etc, Plus numerous workshops with local and nationally-known artists. ​ My art interests include water media, collage, mixed media, marbling and printmaking (usually with a gelli plate.) I've also experimented with oils, encaustics, and pastels. I've taught classes and workshops in my major interests. ​ I've been awarded Signature Status from the Society of Watercolor Artists, Southwestern Watercolor Society, and the Texas & Neighbors Regional Art Exhibition. My artwork has also won numerous awards in local competitions. ​ My artwork has been on exhibit in such venues as the Trinity Arts Guild Gallery, Fort Worth Central Library, UNT Health Science Center Atrium Gallery, Jaycee Park Center for the Arts, the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Center Gallery, Irving Arts Center, the Eisemann Center Gallery, and many others. ​ As a librarian, I was fortunate to be immersed in information technology from the beginning of the digital age. I worked primarily as a database searcher for libraries in the University of Texas System: Southwestern Medical Center and UT Arlington. When the internet age dawned, I taught basic HTML to help people create web pages.Then over time, I replaced coding wth more sophisticated front ends for programming (like Wordpress). ​ I'm currently the webmaster (along with Nancy Friedel) for ArtNewsDFW.com, a visual arts resource for the North Texas area. The website is devoted to news of art events hosted by nonprofit visual art groups in the North Texas area plus news about local artists. Find out about exhibits, meetings, art instruction, art festivals, and opportunities for artists. You can also subscribe to daily or weekly email newsletters for free. We also have a Facebook page, a Facebook group and a Twitter feed (@artnewsdfw). I am the longtime webmaster for the Irving Art Association. I have also provided web support for the Society of Watercolor Artists in Fort Worth, the Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas and Texas Visual Art Association (TVAA) in Dallas.

Dot Painting Adventures

Recently I’ve been inspired by the wonderful art of the Australian natives — often called “Aboriginal Art”. The roots of this style actually goes back over 40,000 years to the first people who settled Australia. I’ve created a Pinterest board, where I have been collecting examples of Aboriginal and derivative art: https://www.pinterest.com/sharongiles/dot-line-painting-dot-deco-aboriginal-tribal/

The methods are simple but the results are spectacular. Using basic shapes, dots, lines and much repetition (such as haloing), you can create wonderful nonobjective art or abstract subjects, such as animals, people, etc. The techniques are also called “Dot Painting” and the style has been adapted worldwide. I’m calling my version “Dot Deco.”

The wonderful portrayals of the native Australian animals was the first thing that attracted me to this style, so I began by trying to portray North American animals using this method. I started with an Armadillo (very Texan), but have explored a few more. Last month I taught a class called “Dreamtime Creatures” based on this.

I did two different versions of a wolf howing at the moon – one with metallics and iridescents. Plus a roadrunner that morphed into a totally imaginary bird. The works are done in acrylic and some of them have dots added using dimensional paint (puff paints.)

 

I’ve also ventured into abstract florals. I haven’t found any examples of floral art done by native Australian but the subject is something that calls to me. Here are two examples, both done on black backgrounds:  

I am working on more Dot Deco (cats!) and will eventually add these to my Etsy store.

New Art Calendar for 2017 – order now

Every year I publish a new Art Calendar with my latest work using the high-quality publishing program on Lulu.com. For the last few years I have been including my poetry — in 2016 I even included poetry from Middleton family members. This year it’s back to just art, since the writing muse has deserted me (temporarily I hope.)

This year I’m including watercolor and acrylic paintings, plus collage mixed media incorporating my Suminagashi prints (paper marbling with ink floating on water). The watercolor work includes my negative painting experiments, and the acrylic, my “folk art” phase — launched when I participated in the Irving Art Association’s folk art exhibits.

To purchase on Lulu.com, click here. The price is $17 for a 12-month standard size calendar. You may also preview the calendar art there.

Cover; more of the art included: