Although I love and still paint the human face, by substituting animal heads I hope to render my paintings archetypal and symbolic. The people lose their individual personas but gain deeper meanings. The only difference between humans and really anything else is the Persona. When the Persona is removed what remains is a pure being. To then add back costume as well as foppery and hand gesture is to give this being symbol and perhaps root them in an era. This layering is often, ironically, superficial, drawing attention to our perceptions of these superficial items or to how our personas are often like animals and connected to Nature.
I paint to try to capture a timelessness or emotion, a notion of the other, and of our human and animal nature's. My animal-headed people and obscured faces are then vehicles to carry that idea. Traditionally our cultures painted zoomorphic images to represent spirituality, aspects of God, a timeless force. These chimeras capture the awe of the viewer with their strangeness. I hope my paintings tap into this Mystic as modern-day totems residing in their everyday existence, just as we are individual spiritual people living odd and normal everyday lives.
At 11 Sharon Eisley fell in love with Chinese brush line, becoming a painter in a family of psychologists. In high school she discovered watercolor and followed both passions in Taiwan for 3 years. While studying Mandarin, she painted Chinese Santa Claus's, and people breaking their heads open to reveal new people inside. Returning to the US she finished her BA at the California College of Art in Oakland and SF. Sharon lives and paints on her urban homestead in the North Bay, trying to redefine the paradigms of what and who we are. She is represented at Valkarie Gallery in Denver, CO and her art is in collections throughout the United States as well as Asia, New Zealand and Europe.
Direct sales are allocated exclusively to EK Allocation List members at a 10% discount. Orders of 6+ bottles save an additional 50% off shipping. New releases ship twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Join EK Allocation List
CUSTOMIZED ALLOCATIONS
You may customize your spring and fall allocations any way you like, from 0–12 bottles of each wine. (Small-lot and list-only wines will have lower limits.) To modify your allocations, click on MY ALLOCATION above. Join EK Allocation List
REORDERS
Wines often sell out at or close to release, so we encourage making the most of your spring and fall allocations. As long as wine remains, you are welcome to reorder online through our EK Special Order store. Or contact John Gillis at john@erickentwines.com or 415.244.9453.
