Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sharon Goodenough. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sharon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
If I was asked this a few years ago the answer would have been yes I wish I had started sooner. Over the years I felt that I had missed the boat or needed to have a degree to be taken seriously. The option to continue studying towards a degree wasn’t available to me, while studying for my A’levels my parents were going through a divorce and life was pretty chaotic. I left full time education at 18 and I worked as a photographers assistant, it was entirely different to working on creative projects and I wasn’t prepared for the commercial photographic environment. Homelife was turbulent and lonely however I moved jobs to a studio where I became a “photographic colour hand technician’. This was a totally different environment, the work was interesting, my colleagues were supportive and I met some incredible clients. One of the clients later hired me to work as his makeup artist, I had taken a short course in makeup for Stage, TV & Film and I didn’t correct him when he assumed I’d been trained at the BBC! The work was fun but sporadic, I worked on projects for magazines, national news papers and album covers for emerging music artists. I dipped in and out of work as a makeup artist over the coming years as my career path took a complete turn, I trained as a Financial Advisor! It was a tough role to be taken seriously in at such a young age, I was 22yrs old, however I went for it and over the coming years I remained largely in this sector, unfulfilled and hopping from one job to another! During my early 30’s I returned to my art & took a 2yr Higher Education Access to Fine Art course. This led to the offer of the degree in fine art on completion however I was pregnant with my son and following an extremely difficult pregnancy, I threw myself into motherhood. When my son started school I studied various creative pathways including, interior design & landscape painting.
As my son grew and gradually became more independent I started dabbling with my art again. My inner critic was horrendous at this point though and despite a lot of encouragement from my husband and close friends, I felt a fraud and I procrastinated in fear! So what changed? The most important change for me was sorting through my fragmented thoughts. I began to question all the preconditioning that we are subjected to as we are growing up, I took notice & answered the question, “What was it you loved doing as a child?” I followed artists on social platforms that were thriving and doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, I read a lot of books & still do and I’ve cultivated an environment which embodies that of a thriving artist. I’ve delved deep into my “Why” and now I know that I am meant to be doing this, so do I wish I has started sooner? Yes of course, however would I appreciate and value it as much as I do, I’m not sure? Life has given me many lessons & experiences over the years, which I am incredibly grateful for, I can see very clearly that everything I have done has been a gift, even working in sales and has led me here and the time is now.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always been creative and while working in sales paid the bills and raising my son fulfilled my need to nurture, I had this burning desire to create. Four years ago I was commissioned to do a pet portrait. I anxiously posted it on social media and to my surprise this led to further commissions and a steady flow of work. As the pandemic hit I found myself with a lot more time on my hands to create, so while working on these commissions I was also painting seascapes in oils. When I was studying Fine Art, I was heavily influenced by the Impressionist movement and my seascapes are indicative of this style. I think the simplicity in the way the artists painted what they saw, thought and felt, resonated with me. Intrigued by the way they sought to capture the optical effects of light and to convey the fleeting nature of the present moment, I was hooked. As I honed my skills and developed my own style people started to show an interest in these paintings.
I was approached by three galleries and decided to collaborate with one in Madrid to represent me internationally. I built my website and networked in my local community. My work appeared at the Luxembourg Contemporary Art Fair and in two exhibitions in Madrid. Networking locally has been a triumph, I took part in an “En Plein Air’ event in the grounds of Windsor Castle where my finished piece sold immediately and gained the Highly Commended award.
Looking at what has been achieved so far I am most proud of my personal growth and my deliberate change in mindset. Removing those blocks which were preventing me from moving forward in my career was key and has released me to be in a constant creative flow. Painting for myself first and being grateful for all the experiences that life has given me has helped me appreciate how much I have to give. Where I previously felt fearful and doubted my myself, I now know that this is who I am and this is what I do. When I create a piece of art I put my whole self into it, emotionally and physically and having the confidence to be vulnerable to the process has moved my art from creating something beautiful to expressing my inner self. When I finish a piece now, instead of wondering if anyone will actually like it or buy it, I try to detach myself from the outcome & send it on it’s way with love.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I read and research a lot, I find is slightly addictive. I think creativity is one thing but it’s useless if you don’t believe in yourself. In order to overcome my debilitating thoughts and beliefs I started with changing my habits. Firstly I exercise four to five mornings a week and this automatically puts my mindset in a positive place. I make my art practice a priority and block out my week to focus on creating and being in my studio. There are a number of books and resources I would recommend, I listen to a lot of podcasts while I paint and my top three are:
Unlocking Us – Brene Brown
Dare to Lead – Brene Brown
The Tony Robbins Podcast
At 23yrs old I was lucky enough to participate in the Tony Robbins – “Unleash the Power” event and I have read many of his books. I often revisit the incredible Tony Robbins podcast – Start Small, Think Big, Scale Quickly with SPANX founder – Sara Blakely, her resilience & determination is incredibly inspiring. I have taken a lot of inspiration from James Clears’ – Atomic Habits, where making small changes everyday leads to longterm positive habits. A huge thanks to Jess Hughes Fine Artist, who put the book “Happy Pocketful of Money” on my radar, which teaches the practice of gratitude, giving and faith and how true wealth comes from following your passion, sharing your unique gifts and creating an internal mantra to build wealth consciousness.
Lastly I follow Jodie King – Educator, Entrepreneur and Professional Artist. Through her incredible weekly content on instagram she connects with her followers in a no nonsense, straight talking way which I can totally relate to. Always uplifting and fun, I have learnt so much from this woman and being a female artist of the same age it has been a blessing to discover her. I’m so excited that she has her own podcast releasing very soon which I’m sure will give artists more valuable insights.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
It starts at the very first entry point in education, through schools, colleges and society in general. In the 80’s when asked what career I wanted to follow, my desire to be an artist was met with “but that’s not a real job, what are your typing skills like?” and that was from the careers advisor in school! These days there appears to be more support for the creative subjects but I’m not sure its enough. With so much importance placed on an academic curriculum and exam results where’s the space to cultivate an environment that encourages freedom of expression and the mind and spirit connection which society at large seems to lack.
Young people are hugely passionate about creativity and see working in the creative industries as a dream and yet they have very little guidance around how to achieve this, with no real support from school or home. Often to enter a career in the creative industries, it’s through unpaid work experience, which is an option for some but not everyone can afford to do this. To create a thriving ecosystem for creatives there has to be better entry points. The world has shifted massively now with social platforms being the norm and a digital age providing the ability to capture and market to an audience in seconds. There is limitless reach and visual platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are an artists dream. With its’ free worldwide marketing, small business can connect globally, be inspired and educated all at the same time.
Today we can search for countless subjects to find tutorials that guide us instantly from “how to tutorials” to NFT’s. Traditional education is falling behind so building greater partnerships & collaborations between industry and education could provide more opportunities for young people, keep up to speed in what’s happening in the real world and align the skills/curriculum so that it appeals to the individual rather than the masses.
I believe that every organisation needs these innovators that think outside of the box, break boundaries and create something unique in order to remain current. With a solid connection between education, industry and new technology this may cultivate a creative ecosystem that thrives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shzstudioart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonstudioart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHZstudioArt/
Image Credits
I credit Suki Dhanda for the lifestyle image of me studying at the door of my Studio.