Joani Share at Olson Realty, Inc

Artists are often asked, who or what has influenced your creative process? I am often drawn to certain imagery – simple shapes, forms, colors and textures. I have long been influenced by African art: sculptures from Sierra Leone, masks from Nigeria, and carvings from Ghana. I am intrigued by the paintings of Francis Bacon, Fritz Scholder, and Alice Neel. I enjoy the simplicity of form created by the work of Modigliani and the paper cutouts of Matisse.

The human figure is my creative source of imagery. My figurative work is purposefully ambiguous. “Characters” in my paintings are often not explicit as to gender, race, color, ethnicity, etc. Rather, my paintings encourage the viewers to make these determinations for themselves. I work on both canvas and paper and incorporate a wide variety of unique materials that I collage and manipulate to create the imagery. My surfaces may be layered with acrylics, inks, graphite and mixed media allowing for a richness of design and composition.   ~ Joani Share