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Professor/Educator
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Fine Artist
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Community Organizer
Storyteller
Magician
Remarkable Person
Fine Artist
Design Consultant
Painter
Jewelry Designer
Professor/Educator
Theater Designer
Illustrator
Musician
Writer
Performer
Exhibit Designer
Community Organizer
Storyteller
Magician
Remarkable Person
Fine Artist
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Painter
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Professor/Educator
Theater Designer
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Painter
haron Harmon Muir
Biographic History
Sharon Harmon Muir has led a fascinatingly varied life in the arts, and in close connection with her community. A native of North Carolina, she began her involvement with the arts at age 12, when she helped stage productions in high school and community theatres. At the age of 14 she began studying classical portraiture at the Charlotte Mint Museum with Darryl Korteura. Shortly thereafter she sold her first painting. Inevitably, her attraction to representational art led her to more specialized involvement with theater — set and costume design. She received college scholarships in theater, and was among the first women admitted as a freshman to what was then the all-male University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her scenic design training required extensive research for each production, and thus she developed the skill of discovering, perceiving and representing a complete "world" for her audiences within the canvas of the stage. "In painting, the interaction between the work and the audience has always been very much like theater. In theater, you've got to believe you really are somewhere. As with her paintings, although they may not be completely realistic, the viewer is drawn into this world, to participate in that moment. That unique interaction is my goal."
After receiving her BFA in 1971, she studied under Andres Nomikos, retired scene designer and fine art painter for LaScalla (Italy) and the Metropolitan Opera (New York). From him she received a classical art training, including copying the masters, and perfecting the skills and techniques of classical painting. This period was critical in broadening her focus from theatrical applications, to experiencing painting as a fine art. Sharon completed her MA in 1973 and has been a professional artist since that time.
This classical training came at a time when the art world, and art departments at most leading universities, were pursuing a much more modern approach to painting. "The unique foundation I received in classical painting for theater has been a constant influence in my creating works of art that are accessible and stimulating to audiences."
After teaching at two universities, Sharon decided to employ a different method of teaching. She has spent the time since then following and sharing her creativity. "I have refused to take a day job to support an art habit." This led naturally to her continuously integrated use of the fine and performing arts: residencies and grants to bring the arts into communities, ghost writing for the rich and famous, working with various theater groups, helping union organizing drives, designing jewelry, playing folk music, being a foster parent to numerous children, and throughout all, painting those visually meaningful moments that gave her personal inspiration.
In 1997 Sharon went to India to visit her daughter, and spent four months inspired by the simple life around her. It became a spiritual journey and she was reconnected with her past theatrical painting, but this time for a much greater drama. The simple environments of daily life of a spiritual master, now departed, connected her with the continuously sacred nature of the everyday. A hill, a tree, a building, a simple winding path became metaphors for remembrance of a spiritual journey.
Sharon has moved freely between stage canvas to the small canvas, and has worked in a variety of media, including pen and ink, watercolor, oil, and acrylic. Having now returned to the medium of her theatrical training, Sharon prefers primarily watercolors. "My watercolors communicate as I would have with the director… an impression, the mood, that sense of place." Her paintings utilize vibrant colors and a heightened realistic style, with a strong emphasis on her subject's natural beauty.
As with her art, she has traveled the world, only to come back from India for six months of each year to her home state, to the historic town of Bath, where she lives with her husband. While continually producing and selling paintings, Sharon continues to perform and maintain an active role in her community. Her works are held and displayed in over 200 public and private collections in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Half of each year, she and her husband live in India, where she maintains a second painting studio, and serves as the design/technical consultant for a 500-seat theater. Her recent paintings have focused on nature, architecture, and the wide experience of life both in the coastal region of North Carolina and abroad. A recent series of 31 watercolors of scenes in India was published as a book by Meher Mownavani Publications, Hyderabad, India. It will soon go into its second printing.
She has received incredible response to her watercolors and acrylics, but, beyond the book, she does not authorize any print reproductions of her paintings. They are available as originals only. For her, the artist has a direct connection to that which is represented on the canvas. "When a painting is given to the person for whom that one piece was meant, it is a linkage to that place or thing and time that is unique, and truly original. There is only one."
Her studio is open daily, in the USA or India, depending on the season. She accepts individual and series commissions as time allows. she graciously holds weekly open studio days for other area artists to visit and exchange ideas.
