Interview
Sharlene McLearon
Sharlene studied art in Canada, France, Italy and U.S.A. She was a National Gallery of Canada docent, specialist in Fine Art appreciation for children. She’s had multiple solo and group exhibitions in Saudi Arabia, Canada, Italy, Germany and USA. Her art work features in private and corporate collections in over 30 countries. In 1996, UNICEF – Geneva selected her painting “Sunflowers” for their year-round correspondence cards which were marketed in Europe and Asia. In 1998, she established her art website. She followed parallel careers: Television and print journalist, book and magazine illustrator, art teacher, Reiki Master/teacher, Energy therapist, graduate nurse.
From 2007 to 2023, as a member, Sharlene joined Studio Giambo in several Italian cities including Florence, Ferrera, Pontremoli and Rovigo for Libro d’Artista exhibitions. She participated in the “Garzoni Challenge,” a virtual exhibition sponsored by “Advancing Women Artists” associated with the Uffizi Galleries in Florence. Her works were donated to Dammam Archeology Museum, United Way, Museum London, Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health, Elizabeth Fry Societies of Canada, Scleroderma Society of Ontario, PRIM Canada and Palestine Museum US. The proceeds from sale of “Ukrainian Sorrow” painting donated to the Ukrainian Support Fund. In 2022, exhibited “Ocean Merkaba” at the Rossocinabro Gallery in Rome as part of the AMACI Italian Exhibition expressing the effects of Ocean pollution. Sharlene’s art has been published in Spotlight magazines of the Circle Arts Foundation in Europe. Sharlene participated in the 5th International Leonardo da Vinci Prize held at the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan, Italy in 2023 and 2024. She received an award with the catalogue ‘’Leonardo da Vinci’. She participated in the Pegasus Exhibition in Venice and has been included in catalogues, “Contemporary Celebrity Masters’’ vol 2 and 3 and in the catalogue ‘International Prize Pegasus for the Arts’’.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was introduced to painting when I was 14 years old, and my parents gifted me a set of oil paints and brushes. I played with it, experimenting with oil colours on small canvas boards. I was exposed to musical arts and as a family we sang around the piano as my mother played it. In high school I chose to learn a drawing/design course which captured my artistic side. Prior to entering a three-year nursing education, I was awarded a cultural scholarship at the famous Chautauqua Institution in New York State. I flourished in this environment and chose to study photography and ceramics for six weeks. Talk about lighting my creative fire! In nursing, one must be very observant, so this supported my artistic side also, especially in portraiture. After nursing graduation and upon marriage, I decided to paint in my leisure time. I was so drawn to it! I remember my first finished work of two cartoon characters.
Later when I had children, I took art classes in the evenings at local schools and colleges and university - many drawing classes, colour theory, life drawing, life painting, portraiture, woodcarving, Tibetan art, renaissance art, sculpture, and oil painting. In the same time period, I was accepted in the National Gallery of Canada docent program for a specialization in fine art appreciation for children. I conducted school tours in the galleries. My first group exhibition was in 1983, just before we moved to Saudi Arabia! By 1986 I became established in the local art scene in the capital of Riyadh. Famous artist, the late Mohammed Al Saleem became a mentor and agreed that I could do solo shows in his international art gallery which I did successfully. In summer 1984 I went to Paris to study at the Paris American Academy (watercolor, sculpture and French) There my French sculptor professor advised me to stay in Paris and study under Cesar. She said I was gifted. Of course, I had to return to Saudi Arabia because I had a family to care for. In 1986, I was accepted at the Studio Giambo Art School in Florence, Italy for an enriching study of engraving under Silvia Fossati. I continue to this day to have Studio Giambo membership and exhibit my work yearly in the Studio Giambo Libro d’Artista exhibitions in Italy.”
What inspires you?
“So many things inspire me - all beauty, land and water scenes - flowers, gardens, archaeology, people, colour, humanitarian needs, cultures, space and the future.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The gold souks or markets in Saudi Arabia are incredible to see; I became attached to using gold paint and mixed media in my paintings. Also importantly, I studied energy therapy and became a Reiki Master/Teacher. This energy is used in healing in one’s presence and at a distance and it uses symbols. I “see” these symbols in gold when I attune students and when I direct the energy to those in need of healing. Even without seeing the symbols I visualize them infused in my art. Whenever a person sees my artwork the healing energy flows to him/her. Sometimes I physically apply the symbols to the canvas. People often give me feedback saying they feel the energy from the work. Some people have reported receiving a healing in their body. I often see their aura light around their head after a treatment. I have done many paintings about humanitarian needs, famine, working children, war, soldiers, effects of war - such as oil spills killing birds. Also, with the movement of the energy, I learned how to release negative energy with a pendulum from people and places. I do this releasing before I begin work.”
How would you describe your work?
“I would say my work is expressive and healing. It looks to the future of life.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Frank Bowling, Camille Claudel, Monet, Van Gogh, Fauves.”
“I would say my work is expressive and healing. It looks to the future of life.”
What is your creative process like?
“About 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM I receive ideas while sleeping. I believe they come from a higher power or higher dimension. Current events and future living in space also stimulate my creative process. I was a researcher, writer and presenter of national TV programs in Saudi Arabia where I got to show the influence of creative minds on their society. The people deserve to be highlighted for their gifts to their culture. Being able to do this was a gift to me and also influenced my art.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The artist’s role in society is to bring attention to things such as climate change, issues of mankind and to stimulate humanitarianism. That will evolve when mankind experiences his own suffering. Regarding censorship: In the early 90’s there was a special exhibit of Rembrandt’s work at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I was painting a lot and working for Saudi Arabian television as a writer and presenter of local programs. A Dutch friend suggested that my TV team go to Holland and shoot some subjects to present in Saudi Arabia. We were sponsored for the trip and covered several subjects including cheese making and the famous Aalsmeer Flower Market. The most interesting subject for me was covering the Rembrandt exhibition at the Rijksmuseum and the many paintings and drawings of Vincent van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum. Back in Saudi Arabia at the TV station, we edited four programs about the Netherlands and introduced the famous master artists Rembrandt and Van Gogh to the Saudi citizens via TV special broadcast reports. This accomplishment was very important to me because the selection of the artwork had to meet all the censors’ rules regarding images in Saudi Arabia. I had learned the censorship rules while having my own exhibitions open to the public. All work had to be presented to a committee for acceptance before exhibiting.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“In 1986, at the International Art Gallery, Riyadh a large number of men and women attended the opening. Previously only men went to the opening as there was no mixing of women and men at any exhibitions. I believe they allowed the mix because I was a western woman. Another exhibition in Saudi Arabia where a religious young man said that I should not have depicted a religious building. When I explained why I did the painting he left and later returned to give me a gift, a sifra, which is a palm frond which women wove into a mat for prayer or eating. Recently, the most exciting exhibition was a digital photo of my artwork up on the Big Screen Plaza in New York City.”
