Saunders, Sharon - Originals

I was born in 1943 in Houston, Texas. I was introduced to the thrill of paint and paper in the first grade. From then on I took every opportunity to draw, paint and study art. With the encouragement of my parents and art teachers, I entered and received recognition in a number of scholastic competitions. While this is ancient history, my early years served to establish my identity to myself and my peers as being an artist.

 

When I finished at Texas Academy of Art in 1962, a career in art was my goal. However, like so many women of my time, I put my dream aside for marriage and motherhood. Through the years, I would paint pictures for our son and make an occasional sketch for a friend, but there were always other demands on my time that were more pressing.

 

In 1990, I made a sketch of this dog for a friend to whom I owed a debt of gratitude. I owe him even more now. He really liked it and commissioned others for his friends and clients. The momentum from those early drawings propelled me into gallery representation and inclusion in national magazines. An incredible succession of commissions from all over the nation was the result.

 

There was little time to paint what I loved best - the tints and textures of the wild places of Texas. I had always been interested in the idea of painting on location, but never had the chance to try it. Several years ago, my sister, a retired art teacher, started painting. An idyllic week spent together in the Texas Hill Country roused the dreamer. We push and prod and encourage each other, but mostly we laugh with the pure pleasure of painting - together or apart. Membership in the Outdoor Painters Society puts dates on the calendar for outings - good reason to make time to get together and paint.

 

So, now I am retired and living outside the small town of Rosebud...in the middle of a mesquite patch...under the wide Texas sky. I paint as much as I can, wherever I am, for as long as I can.