Basket Weaver, 24x24x2

Another of the native American series...a woman weaving baskets, this being a study for a larger piece that will show some of her baskets all around her...I think the forms will be interesting in the strong light.  My favorite thing about these paintings is the costuming, if you will...the opportunity to work with the colors and textures of decoration and draping of the clothing...not that it has to be luxurious, but just the layers and variety of fabrics and colors and the excuse to pile on the paint and smash it around...this will get expensive as these canvases get expansive, but I think the larger scale will be yield looser drawing...I am trying to get farther and farther away from the canvas with the brushwork...to the point of adding extensions to my large brushes... (can you say stick this brush into a 3-4 foot bamboo cutting?  Now that, friends, will get you away from the canvas!)

See my website for better views of this and other work. Thanks for looking at my art!  Best, Sharon

Woman with Red Scarf, 30x24

I am back to painting the native American series, and I like this one...she is strong, and proud, and handsome. I plan to post this on my website and activate the zoom feature, so that you can better see the brushwork.  There is alot of paint on this canvas.  I am especially enjoying the textural opportunities presented by the rendering of the clothing and hair ornaments.  Contact me for more info.  Thanks for looking at my work.  Kind regards, Sharon

Salon Woman with Accessorie Pomeranian, 30x24, by Sharon Hodges

I woke up with different brain cells firing today....and this is what came off the easel. Who knew? Definitely more abstracted than recent work and alot of fun. I may expand this as a series of paintings 'ripped from the pages of my sketchbook'. I love how paper looks when it is ripped off of spiral bound books...especially heavy drawing paper. This is painted with oil paints and oil sticks, like giant crayons. I LOVE those. Please visit my website, and contact me if your are interested in this or other paintings.

Proud on the Prairie, by Sharon Hodges, 54x48

My goal here was to show the proud native American Indian woman rising from the prairie...ok, so I got really carried away with all the textures and the layers of paint...if you don't believe me, look at this painting on my new website and use the zoom feature. I do love lots of paint. The feathers may be my favorite part, just layers and layers of bits of color. And I love the strong features of this figure. Painting faces is always challenging , but I am pleased with this one's expressive bearing...I'm going to keep working on this series. This painting is large, it stretched to 54x48, on gallery stretchers. Please contact me if you have interest in this work, and thanks for looking!

Mother and Son

I have always been intrigued with the first Americans, the native Americans, and stories of their lives were my favorite reading subject as a child. I often chose to write my school reports about these peoples, so it may not be surprising that I have finally chosen to paint this subject. It is intimidating. I am particularly interested in native American women, who had more critical roles in daily tribal life than many of us would ever have imagined. While I am not in a position to render a great deal of scholarly information on the subject, I am enjoying painting these women...they are strong featured and often have interesting clothing and ornament. This painting is 44x44, currently mounted on gallery stretched canvas. If you have interest in this painting, please contact me. Please also visit my new website.  This painting can also be seen on page 64 of the April 2011 Western Art Collector magazine.