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Water Blessings

FEATURED ARTIST:

SHARI UBECHEL

Shari is an award-winning artist with collectors world-
wide. With over 9000 paintings sold she is the most
collected living artist in Taos and one of the most coll-
ected in the nation. This year she celebrates 22 years
of being a full time artist.

TM: What does your art express? What makes it unique?

SU:   Studying  art  in  Italy,  being  surrounded  by  the
Renaissance masters, I wanted to create my own style of art.
My 3D interactive technique was based on what I learned in
11 years of studying art and art history, then over 20 years
of studying science, modern technique and practicing my
craft. I used the scientific method of exerimentation be-
fore mastering interactive 3D art.

Capturing the   world as I see it or want   to see it is my
purpose. My paintings are a summary of my experiences
until this moment which is uniquely my own.

TM: Why are you doing it? What emotions or ideas are you
trying to convey? What does it do for you and mean to you?

SU: When I paint it makes my heart sing. When I get to that
point in my painting process I know that it is nearly done
and I fulfilled that purpose.

I feel that I am a hand. I try to get my ego out of the way
and express everything that I have learned and am still
learning in the process of that particular painting. Every
painting has a story and meaning.

I have to paint. It is like breathing. It uplifts my spirit
and mood. It makes me feel whole and complete. Some
of the feelings I am trying to portray are happiness, joy,
peace, aliveness, meaningfulness and sometimes whimsy.

The nebula paintings invite us to wonder about the expansive-
ness of the universe and our place in it. They lead us to quest-
ion what is large  vs.  small   and old  vs.  new. We are just a
speck on a speck; our problems are minute. We are Stardust,
part of it all. Some nebulas (hydrogen gas clouds creating new
stars) are thousands of light-years across and by the time we
see them they have changed and sometimes the stars are already
gone. This reminds me of our purpose in life and impermanence.

As a child I used to spend hours on my back in the sunflowers look-
ing at the clouds seeing animal shapes and faces. Now I paint hydro-
gen gas clouds in the forms of animals and paint the faces as I see
them in the rocks of the gorge.

TM: What do you draw inspiration from and what are your influences?

SU: My travels to over 25 countries exploring the culture, art and
natural world. When hiking and motorcycle touring I will take note
of special spots and color combinations. Museums when I can see
some of my favorite artists work up close such as VanGogh, Monet,
Bonnard, etc…

TM: What do you want people to understand?

SU: I want people to understand that we live in a beautiful world and
art can make it even more beautiful. Taos is one of those special places
where the mountains and canyons meet. Our ecosystem is so diverse and
our skies a new painting for every sunset. People who visit here can take
a piece of Taos home with them and feel like they are on vacation every
day.


Shari Ubechel
Earth and Spirit Gallery,
132 Bent Street. Taos, NM

September 2019 TAOSMagazine.com

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