Sharon Boyce – Artists Statement
I was born in Toowoomba and for 11 years was a fit, healthy, sporty child. I was never still for a minute and as all my teachers would attest, I was never quiet for a minute either. Some things never change!!!! I was diagnosed with Juvenile Chronic Arthritis when I was almost twelve. I was relieved to know what was wrong with me, as I was tired of the endless rounds of doctors and tests. I never realised the consequences of that diagnosis or the changes it would bring to my life
I still live in Toowoomba. The changes in my life have been gradual and acceptance has been learnt but I believe you should never underestimate what you are capable of. Even people with the best intentions in the world, sometimes assume you would not be able to cope with certain challenges. I am a person who needs to be doing new and creative things all the time so I do not let my disability limit me, if at all possible. I want to make a difference to our society and I see I may only have a limited time to do this and this is what drives me. If someone says something cannot be done, I will make sure that it can.
My love of art gives me the chance to explore my creative side and to do something totally independent. I can express my ideas in my way. I have painting since I was twelve and as my body has changed, so too has my art. My style has developed and matured but it is continually changing as I am always experimenting with new techniques and ideas. I love exploring colour and texture and I like layering colours and combining materials and mixing media.
I like the freedom art gives me to be myself. I can say things through my art. I try to express this freedom in my work. It is very fluid. I may intend to portray something and someone else may see something completely different. That’s OK. That’s what art is about and my style encourages this. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t have a lot of freedom in my life because of my disability, but art allows me this chance.
My painting is a celebration of the ideals of inclusion and each painting symbolises this. Some have a strong message and others are subtler. The link with the viewer is part of this process. The paintings aim to draw the audience in and involve them.
I have been painting since I was twelve. I studied art and painted right through high school. I continued studying some art subjects through my Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Southern Queensland and then taught art within both primary and early childhood Education part time for five years. I loved this but I love the doing of art more. I love design and colour and originally I tried to be very precise in my application. As my Arthritis got worse I had to change my style to be able to achieve a result I was happy with. As I experimented more I began to develop more maturity and a greater depth to my work. I tried applications of mixed media and new application techniques.
Before my spinal surgery I really began enjoying my painting and was happy with my work. I used bright, vibrant colours and seemed to produce a huge variety and number of works that were very different to my previous paintings. I even began experimenting more with cut design and colour combination. Surviving my spinal surgery led to even more experimentation and I even tried things like wheelchair painting.
My art uses a mixture of media, but essentially acrylics and inks, both water and oil based. I use different weights of paper and lots of water and plastic in the application. The works are made up of many layers to create the depth. The process I use is quite unique and the finished product is too. It has a texture that is very different. My more recent works also combine both pastels and oil pastels and some charcoal and paper to achieve even more levels to the works. This creates more of a 3D dimension to the paintings and gives an impression of looking into the works.
I always keep my framing simple. Usually black, silver or timber with minimal white matting. Simplicity allows for the paintings to come alive. I have exhibited in nine exhibitions and have sold a number of my works since I began offering them for sale. I have had works hanging in a number of galleries across Queensland and have sold and donated many of my paintings across Australia. Hopefully you will enjoy this exhibition of my art work.
If you have any further questions or would like to see more works please call –0417 708 945
Just to do something differently my sister Tamara and I developed a new style of acrylic and canvas using my electric wheelchair to paint and create the design. As with a lot of my art the style is abstract. It is exciting to see something evolve from nothing. Tamara helps with the paint mixing and application onto the canvases and the design and finished painting evolve from me and my wheelchair melding with the paint and the canvas.
These paintings have been created using my electric wheelchair and throwing acrylic paint. The wheelchair tyre tread and movement of the chair through the paint creates the design and final outcome.
All the art below is available for purchase - just click on each painting to read more about it and buy through paypal. You can also email me and commission a painting that you would like designed.
