Written by These doodlewashes come to us from Sharon Henson in Long Island, New York. (follow her on Instagram!). After she retired her small Art and Handcraft business (started to help local artist showcase and sell their work), her art journey went full speed ahead.
“As a daily painter,” she says, “painting a petite painting a day for 365 days, I learned and taught myself discipline and organization. Although this was challenging and an amazing journey, I decided to switch gears and do sketching and work with watercolor and ink.”
That was four years ago! Today, she is blessed to call Long Island home and its surroundings her inspiration. Sharon says, “I have the sea, sandy beaches, beautiful parks with colorful flowers and quaint villages. An artist can’t ask for anything more to be inspired by!”
Being a photographer and artist, she has always done her work in series. Her newest painting series (selections shown above) with 22 paintings is created as Clam Shell Art and entitled “Down By The Sea.” Inspiration for this series she says, “came from the many hours of beach combing our lovely Long Island and Fire Island beaches. Watching the ocean waves pound the beach …. And watching early morning sunrise and evening sunsets over the open waters.”
She says her creative process is simple and fun. Sharon carries a sketchbook in one hand and her Olympus E510 camera in the other hand. “I do a quick sketch, take a few shots of what catches my eye, and take some notes of what I am sketching and feeling. Pick up a shell or maybe a piece of driftwood or a rock.”
Sharon then goes back to her studio to lay everything on her work table. Materials she likes to use include: CANSON Cold Press 140 lb watercolor paper, Koi watercolor pocket field sketch box with water filled paint brush, and MICRON Ink Pens for detailing. Each painting is 8×10″ with a 5×7″ opening that she does her painting in. The final piece fits in a standard matte and frame. Sharon says, “All this detail and organization makes my art journey easy and each step contributes to my creative process.”
She is no longer at the beach as this series is complete, but now you can find her in her kitchen working on a new Food and Drinks series. Be sure to follow Sharon Instagram to keep up with her lovely new work! She’ll be creating beautiful things daily because, as she says, “art is in my soul and in my heART.”
Living not far from the sea, I really appreciate these lovely doodlewashes. I will check out Sharon’s other work.
Excellent! Please do! So happy you them!
What an amazing idea! She uses such bright colors! These are so amazing.
Yay Megan! Glad you like! Lots more on Instagram to see! 😉👍🏻
Ahhh, the beach…thanks, Sharon and Charlie for bringing us a bit of sun and sand as we head into Autumn!
Thanks Teresa! ❤️😃Yeah…I wasn’t ready for summer to end, so it was an absolute pleasure to feature Sharon’s wondrous works! 😃
What lovely snap shots of the beach life, Sharon. So, restful to view. Thanks Charlie!
Thanks! 😃(And great name huh? Hehe) Sharon is wonderful! Definitely check out more!
These are wonderful. I love her discipline.
Thanks Kirk! I know, right?! It’s inspiring!
Fantastic! I grew up surrounded by the Pacific so I love the ocean! I can smell the ocean just looking at her paintings! Love them! Will be following on IG!! Thanks!
Awesome! Yay! ❤️😃So happy you liked this Kari! And found someone new to follow!!
LOVE THIS! Especially being a former New Englander… I love all things nautical. So creative to paint the art inside the boundaries of a shell!! Fabulous post 🙂
Nice! Glad we could take you back! 😃👍🏻I’m so glad you like this Nicole!
How super sweet are these! Can’t wait to go over on Instagram and follow! 🙂
Awesome! Yay! 👍🏻😃
I love the art and her process. Such great pieces of knowledge shared everyday. Yay!!
Yay! So glad you liked this! And hoping to keep these running daily! Just let me know when you’re ready for a spot! 😉👍🏻
I will Charlie I got to get a bit better! 👍🏼
Lovely paintings by the sea and I like how Sharon frames each one with a shell! Thanks Charlie for introducing Sharon to us! 😊🐠🐚
You’re so welcome, Jill!! She’s really great! Definitely one to follow!! 😉👍🏻
Great journey, beautiful paintings! Love the feature, thank you again Charlie.
Aren’t they wonderful! So glad you liked them!! 😃
A fellow seashore lover not far from the coast love these as well.