Artist Highlight

Sharon Westbrook is a professional artist originally from Aiken, South Carolina. In 1976 she moved to Jacksonville Beach, Florida where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the University of North Florida. Even though she was juried into a national show in New York and represented by one of the top ten most prestigious galleries in the US, she had to return to work in the legal field in order to support her children.

At the age of 50, she quit her corporate job to pursue her art career and has had the most successful years of her life. Sharon’s art has been purchased by private collectors whose collections include Picasso, Chagall, Motherwell and Andy Warhol. She has been represented by top galleries throughout the U.S. and won numerous awards in juried shows.

In 2009 her work was exhibited at Miami Art Basel and she has been invited to exhibit in international shows in France. Her design was chosen by PBS television for a “national” awareness campaign and her art was selected for a public bronze sculpture in Jacksonville, Florida. Many homes and commercial buildings designed by acclaimed architects in the U.S. display her artwork.

Sharon Westbrook is a contemporary abstract and figurative artist with an expressionistic style. Her lack of fear, use of color and large canvases create powerful art.

ARTIST STATEMENT
As our world becomes more technical, I find myself even more drawn to the pursuit of portraying emotion in my art. I often merge several mediums together in order to create layers of interest for the viewer to unravel, and to represent how complicated life can be. This is representative of the lives of most people. The older I become, the more I realize how little we really know about our fellow human beings and what is behind their face, often extreme hardship or pain. The human spirit is an inspiration.