A Lancefield artist who has found her calling will host her first solo art exhibition this weekend, displaying oil paintings at Double Oaks Estate and Cellar Door in Lancefield.
Artist Sharon Pappas will showcase her collection ‘New Perspectives’ that presents a female figure with no face, merged in different landscapes.
About 25 paintings are available to be viewed and purchased at the exhibition.
Ms Pappas said it was up to the audience to create their own connection to the images.
“My story that I am painting, when somebody looks at it, they feel what they’re feeling at the time,” she said.
“I love that people can interpret these and I feel like when you put a face on them, you’re giving people more information about what they really need.”
The landscapes in the paintings are places that Ms Pappas has seen and travelled to.
“The idea of that for me is my connection to the land, I grew up on a farm [in Queensland] and we were living in Melbourne when COVID happened, and we moved out to Lancefield, and I reconnected with the countryside, its just been profound for me,” Ms Pappas said.
“I just love being here, and I think it’s about me and my connection to the country.”
Ms Pappas was a pastel artist when she was in her 20s but stopped due to personal reasons, and picked it up again when she moved to Lancefield in 2020 with her family.
The year after, Ms Pappas re-discovered her love for art and said she had finally found what she wanted to be when she grew up, in her late 40s.
“When we moved out to Lancefield, there’s just this beautiful countryside and COVID gave us a bit of time to ourselves, I just started doing the pastels again,” she said.
“My grandad was an oil painter, he passed away when I was in my teens and I didn’t get a lot of time with him, but he did teach me the basics, and so I thought ‘right I’m going to start with oil because that’s what he did’.
“I think I’ve changed as a person since I moved and I’ve become a lot more aware of myself, and I feel like this collection is the very first time that I’ve actually produced something that’s in my soul, art wise.”
Ms Pappas said she worked ‘extremely hard’ to get to where she is with her art.
“I’ve painted every day since I picked up my first oil tube and I watch YouTube videos, read books and am basically self-taught,” she said.
“I’ve just been putting in the hours at my easel and keep pushing myself to get better and I’m certainly not through the journey yet.
“This idea of the women blending in with the scenes, it really speaks to me, I love it, I’m going to continue exploring that.”
Ms Pappas welcomed art or wine lovers to attend the exhibition, with opening night to include lucky door prizes, and a demonstration to be presented throughout the weekend.
The exhibition will start on November 24, from 6pm until 9pm, and continue on Saturday and Sunday, from 10am until 3pm, at Double Oaks Estate and Cellar Door, at 104 Ashworths Road, Lancefield.
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