Transforming the Natural World into Art! Featuring Sharon Brocha 🌺

Welcome readers! I hope you all are having a lovely year so far ✨ This month I have the honor of featuring a local artist, Sharon Brocha. Sharon's had a love for painting and art since early childhood and after 25 years of painting, she is now an expert in the craft. She captures the beauty of the natural world by replicating the fragility of flowers and the expansiveness of landscapes so perfectly in her paintings.

It all started when Sharon was a child watching her mother draw, and it remains one of her most cherished memories, where she was instilled with a love for transforming her imagination into real works of art. Though the inspiration was there at such a young age, Sharon didn't truly embrace art until junior high and high school, where she took classes here and there, keeping the dream alive and thriving. After school and during her marriage, she explored crafts and sewing, but it wasn’t until after her divorce, that Sharon truly became serious about painting. Sharon explains: “After my divorce, my sister asked me what I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life, and I expressed my desire to paint. Since she was already taking classes at Green River Community College, I decided to join her. She would pick me up, and together we would attend classes.”

The art classes Sharon and her sister took together were largely self-guided, with an instructor present to help them through any difficulties they were having or to ask questions. Besides taking these classes, a lot of Sharons painting and art journey was learned through experimenting, trial and error, and a determination and love of getting lost in the process. Sharon experimented with several different kinds of painting substances, or mediums, as they refer to it in the art world.

Sharon started with watercolors, which wasn’t her favorite medium to use, but she did enjoy experimenting with alcohol ink, acrylic pours, and oils. After 25 years of painting, both professionally and for fun, Sharon is trying to challenge herself and reconnect with watercolors, though oil painting continues to be her favorite style to get lost in. When Sharon sits down to paint, whether it’s in her home studio or simply on her couch in the living room, she loses track of time, forgetting about the mundane activities of everyday life, as she immerses herself in the world of imagination. Sharons determination, creativity and curiosity not only shines through her painting, but also in making frames for her beautiful pieces of art. Sharon took on the craftsmanship of frame making about three years ago, with no formal training and simply a desire to learn. Sharon currently does frame making for people at her home studio, mostly through word of mouth, while also framing her own pieces of art and putting different paintings up in her home depending on the season.

When Sharon isn’t painting, she enjoys many different hobbies, such as tending to her garden, reading, or working on a puzzle. Sharon is always looking for order in her surroundings, explaining that, as she goes about her day, she finds herself noticing colors and shapes, transforming the natural world into a painting in her mind, and using it as inspiration for her next project.

Painting has always been a part of Sharons life, and along with her own self-determination and love of the artform, she finds her greatest support through her sister, as well as being a member of the Peninsula Art Association and Museum Contempo, both located in Shelton, Washington. For Sharon, Painting is more than just a hobby to pass the time. As a widow now, living a quiet life on Lake Limerick, Sharon can’t imagine her life without it; painting has truly been her strength, solace, and constant companion throughout her life.

Sharon will be featuring some of her paintings in a local art show later this year, so stay tuned! In the meantime, if you would like to check out some of her art, you can click on the link below:

Museum Contempo