A North Carolina native, Sharon Hockfield has always viewed life through a painter’s lens. She took art lessons at the Mint Museum as a young child, won numerous high school art awards and dabbled in art courses in college. Though her career in public education took her away from painting, it did not stop her interest. Travel always included art museums, galleries and botanical gardens. She describes her lifelong interest in gardening as “painting with plants.” In 2007, Sharon worked with artist Anne Cowie painting paper for her daughter’s wedding invitations. Feeling right at home with a paintbrush in hand, she began studying with Andy Braitman. She later became an artist-in-residence at Braitman Studio and has also studied with Tony Griffin, Wayne McDowell and Cynthia Packard. Sharon is honored to be the winner of the 2014 Art with Heart Emerging Artist competition. She was the featured solo artist at the Powerhouse Project Gala in June, 2015, and received Honorable Mention in The Body Beautiful exhibit at Ciel Gallery in October, 2015. She is an invited artist for ArtFields 2016. Sharon works out of a South End studio in Charlotte, NC. "My art is complex as is my subject. People aren’t always pretty. They are more than skin deep. They are more than a portrait. They fill up an environment. Therefore, my paintings are layered, complicated, nuanced, evolving and full of subtext. I am constantly searching for that balance between the figure and the abstract. Using both additive and subtractive techniques, I continually build up and tear down surfaces and images. I combine drawing with painting, line with form, and texture with color. Though I always work from life, I am more concerned with seeing an interesting figure emerge from the canvas than with capturing an exact likeness. I want viewers to have a conversation with my figures because they have something to say."