Mar 19, 2020
Sharol Chandler
The landscapes of my recent works are representations of scenes from Central Oregon, Northern California, the Snake River and other places in Northeast Oregon, and the northern Cascades of Washington. When I’m traveling, I’m always on the lookout for some interesting play of the light on the scenery. While in most cases the place is readily identifiable by anyone familiar with that area, I do not try to make an exact copy with each rock and tree in place. Instead, I work to capture the way the light is affecting the view. Light is what inspires me. I love to study the way light shows itself in the natural world. The colors, shadows, reflections, atmosphere, and constant shifting are endlessly fascinating to me. I am also captivated by the allegorical quality of light. The feelings that all of these attributes of light can evoke are what I bring to my art.
My journey into art began by chance. I stumbled upon plaster relief and started doing some exploring. Before I knew it I was creating relief sculpture murals and then framed relief sculpture pieces. In the beginning I was quite fascinated by the shifting shadows in the reliefs and the fact that the changing light in the room took care of that for me. As I gained confidence in my painting skills I decided to try incorporating two- dimensional paintings into the relief sculpture pieces. From there it wasn’t much of a leap to two-dimensional paintings on canvas. My interest in carving has remained strong even while pursuing my painting. Now, I am also creating wood sculptures. Galleries in Oregon, Idaho and Washington have displayed my paintings and sculptures. My paintings and sculptures have been in numerous juried shows and won awards in Oregon and Idaho.
