Sharon Carol Demery

Sharon Carol Demery moved from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, where she studied and began her career. There she developed her modern art with an affinity for vibrant color, purity, and simplicity depicting images of abstraction that retain their cohesiveness. She was associated with the 1970s Abstract Illusionism movement. Primarily considered to be an abstract painter, her artistic facility and mixed-genre style depict an artist capable of eluding classification working in both abstraction and representational painting. Sharon has shown in galleries and museums around the country, and her work is in many private and public collections. An award-winning artist, her work has been reviewed and written about in numerous publications like Art Magazine, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Images and Issues. Sharon taught painting at Arizona Western College in Yuma, as artist in residence, from 1979 to 1981, after which she moved to San Diego, where she attended UCSD and received the Professional Certificate in Art and the Creative Process. She attended Platt College and received a diploma in graphic design. She also studied human development at San Diego City College. Sharon has been teaching at the Athenaeum’s School of the Arts for 10 years. She has been influenced by her many travels on three continents and the great works of masters like Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse, Bonnard, Kandinsky, Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Thiebaud, and Diebenkorn. She says, “Painting for me is about discovery, growth, and human emotion. My goal is to continue studying the masters old and new to continue my journey in painting.”

For the Winter 2024 Session, Sharon is teaching the following class: