MEGHAN SHARIR
Visual Artist: portraits and figurative works.

Who am I as an artist?

I am passionate about portraiture, inspired by the challenge of translating an individual’s unique expression, and the intimacy this creates for both the artist and the viewer. Painting allows for a detailed observation of other people that we are not normally afforded. In today’s world, inundated with information and images, I see painting as a form of “slow food” for the eyes. With my work, I want to catch your attention for a moment and show you what I see—something you may not have noticed otherwise.

Born in BC, I have travelled for much of my life, living in Europe for many years, and sailing through three oceans for a couple more. I have worked as a teacher, a secretary and a coordinator for women and environment for an international NGO, amongst other things. I am now firmly based in Greater Vancouver, have raised my family and begun my artistic career here. 

My artistic training is as eclectic as my life experience and includes two years as a Fine Arts student at UBC, courses at the local art school Emily Carr, frequent workshops, classes and demonstrations with local and international artists, and countless wide-eyed hours in art museums all over the world. In 2012, I moved from simply drawing to painting in watercolour and then in 2016, I took up oil painting under the mentorship of Dene Croft, current president of the Canadian Federation of Artists. In addition to many workshops and sessional classes in watercolour and oil painting with local artists over the past few years, I have also taken several intensive workshops with master portrait artists. 

Although I have worked in both watercolour and in oil, am currently devoting most of my time to oil painting. I love the "magic" that watercolour provides, the element of the unexpected and the uncontrolled but oil allows me to take my time and struggle for mastery, playing with rich colours and layers. I am evolving as a realist painter, most interested in the human form; even my landscapes usually contain figures, often children. I paint primarily from photographs, always my own (except when working on a commission), drawing from my own life and travels to capture and communicate moments of whimsy, quiet beauty and quirky humanity. Painting almost exclusively from my own life and my own snapshots allows me to explore my personal memories and prompts me to look at my present surroundings with a more careful eye. I participate in life drawing sessions weekly to keep my observation muscles in shape and private commissions take me out of my own world periodically and allow me to share in another person's experience. A form of slightly messy realism allows me to communicate my observations and my vision best. I take commissions and am happy to discuss your vision with you!