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Artist’s Statement

My earliest memory is with my grandfather, standing under the blazing sun watching him dig in his garden. I began collecting specimens early on, filling my pockets with rocks and tin cans with sweet gum seeds; that love of nature never left me.

In my paintings, I record and interpret the landscapes that have shaped me. Hazy and flowing fields of color celebrate the ever-changing and sometimes messy process of growth and death. The layering of colors and textures evokes the expansive tapestry of light, the complexity of form, and the subtlety of change that surrounds us in nature.

I often work in the tradition of field naturalists, gathering artifacts and specimens outdoors and transporting them inside for closer observation and study. Re-creating, transforming, and isolating the textures and patterns found in nature is a joyful and almost meditative process that allows me to embrace a childlike wonder and imagination.

Biography

Shara Appanaitis was born and raised in east Texas. Surrounded by the Great Piney Woods, she developed a love of the outdoors and appreciation for the details of light and texture in the landscape. She fell in love with art making through a traditional film photography course in high school and continued her art education at the University of Houston Clear Lake specializing in sculpture and ceramics. After receiving a Master of Arts degree in 2013, Shara began painting. Her works have been exhibited throughout the USA. Today, her home studio in the Virginia Blue Ridge region is surrounded by sixty acres of mountains and wilderness that provide daily inspiration.