Sharon Field

After careers in teaching and the civil service in various countries in the Pacific and Africa, Sharon Field embarked on her career as an artist in 2009. She has held eight solo exhibitions, four joint exhibitions with sculptors and ceramicists, has participated in many group exhibitions

Sharon has enjoyed two residencies at Bundanon, the home of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd, and another at Stwdio Maelor in Wales.  She was a finalist in the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, and was the 2017 recipient of the American Society of Botanical Artists ‘Anne Ophelia Dowden Award’, and an Award for Excellence from the UK Society of Botanical Art. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, the USA and Australia.

Sharon’s subject matter recognises that while her subjects have a toughness that we can barely begin to imagine, they are still fragile and, in many cases, their future is uncertain.  These tiny treasures all have a fragile beauty.

Sharon’s work pushes the boundaries of traditional botanical art whilst maintaining the beauty and dramatic form of her subjects.  Appreciating nature’s diversity and the importance of natural relationships in a rapidly changing environment is a fundamental underpinning to her artistic practice.

Acanthus mollis

$720

Graphite & gouache

380 x 180 mm

"When summer days grow harsh."

Summer days in Australia are harsh.  The heat of the sun sucks the moisture and energy from the leaves of plants leaving them vulnerable to insect predation.  Even in this state, the sculptural qualities of the leaves of the Acanthus mollis remain majestic.

Banksia integrifolia

$680

Watercolour, graphite & gouache

210 x 125 mm

"The sun is gone ... the dream draws on." 

This is one of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770 during his voyage with Captain James Cook. It does not require fire to trigger the release of its seed.  Rather, seed is released spontaneously on reaching maturity in late summer.  The species non-reliance on fire for seed dispersal suggests that the exclusion of fire would not affect plant populations, but a number of studies have found the opposite to be true.

Pinus radiata cone

$680

Watercolour, graphite & gouache

150 x 130 mm

"My life was wide and wild."

Pine cones in their early lives are so sedate and tightly controlled.  Let a sulphur crested cockatoo near a pine cone as a rain storm is drawing nigh and the results are wild.  This pine cone was opening in response to a change in air pressure as a rain storm was coming over.  It was preparing to release its seeds.  The cocky knew this and decided it would join in the festivities and feasted on the seeds held by each scale.  A wide and wild life indeed!

Rosa sp. and fungi

$680

Watercolour, graphite & gouache

130 x 110 mm

"Oh, they slide and they vanish."

At the end of the season, the petals from my roses cascade down to the soil where they mix and mingle with the fungi already in residence.  Gradually the rose petals vanish as they melt into the soil absorbed by the fungi, only to reappear again fresh and invigorated in the new season.  Such an important relationship and so quietly enacted.