Sharon Hurst

As a child I would read of dragons and imagine their hoards of jewels… Now as an adult, I paint the dragons and make the jewels! It all started with “Lord of the Rings”, and with his words, Tolkien swept my heart away to another world. The rich imagery was in my head, I just needed to get it down onto the paper. However, as a child of the ‘70’s, music was of paramount importance too. I would sit on my bed listening to my vinyl records, totally immersed in the melodies and the artwork on the album covers. Roger Dean was my hero and I yearned to step into the posters on my bedroom walls to experience his futuristic landscapes for myself. I took up my paintbrushes and the journey began. I struggled and made mistakes, I listened and watched, read books and tore up sheets and sheets of paper! Frustration and patience became my constant friends and I slowly taught myself how to paint… When my mind is tired and I need a rest from my paintbrush, I take up the needle instead and make jewellery with beads and semi-precious stones. It is a different world altogether and allows me to recharge my batteries. Today, I travel all over teaching and demonstrating or running painting holidays, helping others to achieve their potential. I have two teaching DVDs and have been lucky enough to work on several TV art projects and art related series. I enjoy creating teaching videos in my studio for my YouTube Channel. In addition, I work freelance demonstrating and presenting products in store or on TV with the HOCHANDA Channel. Now I cannot imagine life without the ability to create. It is my true joy to paint the pictures of my imagination, but that would be a lonely pastime without sharing. A picture has two aspects… Firstly, there is the Creation. However, this would not be complete without the Watcher… The soul who views it. So, the second aspect is the Viewing, when hopefully a magical something will spark a frisson of recognition and the gift of creation can be accepted with pleasure. Indeed, consider, what use would a picture be if it were painted, framed and hung on a wall with no-one to see it?