Sharon Giles SWA SWS TXN is a visual artist and art webmaster formerly located in (and native to) North Texas. Since 2022 she resides in the Pacific Northwest just outside the beautiful city of Olympia.
A former medical librarian and online researcher, she has always been interested in art. There’s two major parts to her life: the artistic side and the techie side.
Her artistic training includes basic courses in college and local classes with with prominent artists: Cecy Turner, Naomi Brotherton, Maureen Brouillette, etc, Plus numerous workshops with local and nationally-known artists.
Sharon’s art interests include water media, collage, mixed media, marbling and printmaking with a gel plate. She’s also experimented with oils, encaustics, and pastels. She has taught classes and workshops in her major interests – including gel printing using acrylic and watercolor, suminagashi marbling, watercolor on yupo, negative painting, stencils, and more. As well as done demonstrations for local art groups in many media and techniques.
She has been awarded Signature Status from the Society of Watercolor Artists, Southwestern Watercolor Society, and the Texas & Neighbors Regional Art Exhibition.
Her artwork has won numerous awards and been on exhibit in such venues as the Trinity Arts Guild Gallery, Fort Worth Central Library, UNT Health Science Center Atrium Gallery, Jaycee Park Center for the Arts, the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Center Gallery, Irving Arts Center, the Eisemann Center Gallery, and many others in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Lately she has exhibited through the Olympia Art League during ArtsWalk.
She was the founding webmaster (along with Nancy Friedel) of Art News DFW, a major visual arts resource for the North Texas area. After she moved to the Pacific Northwest, Sudeep Kumar took over as webmaster. The website is devoted to news of art events hosted by nonprofit visual art groups in the North Texas area plus news about local artists.
Sharon was also the longtime webmaster for the Irving Art Association for over 20 years, plus she also provided web tech support for the Society of Watercolor Artists in Fort Worth, Texas Visual Art Association (TVAA), and the Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas for a few years.
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Some older honors:
June 2013: Third in the Art in the Round category at the 2013 Trinity Arts Guild Open Show for acrylic monotype/watermedia painting “Morning Tide”
May 2013: First in Watermedia at the Irving Art Association 2013 Juried Members Show for watermedia “Green Mansions”- Sept. 2012: Awarded Signature Status with the Southwestern Watercolor Society
Sept. 2012: First in Watermedia / Mixed Media at the 4th Pet Art Show for the watercolor on Yupo “Guard Duty”- Apr. 2012: First in Graphics, Pastels, 3D at the Trinity Arts Guild Members Juried Show for the monoprint “Kittens, Watchful”
- Jan. 2012: Awarded Signature Status with the Society of Watercolor Artists
Sept. 2011: Second Place in Watermedia, 3rd Pet Art Show for the watercolor on Yupo “Ice Cream Hounds, Belize”
Apr. 2011: Honorable Mention in Mixed Media at the 26th Texas & Neighbors Regional Exhibit for the acrylic collage “Miz Scarlett”
June 2009: Second in Watermedia, Trinity Arts Guild Open Juried Show for the watercolor “Elephant Embrace”
May 2009: Special Award, Irving Art Association Members Juried Show for the watercolor on Yupo “One White Rose”
Sharon Giles Art 
oh Sharon how I wish I could attend your course on making gelatin prints using watercolor!! But I am living here in the United Kingdom.
Please will you tell me what it is that makes this process work – is there an ingredient like for example glycerine or gum arabic or what ??
I am really wishing I could find an answer. I was thinking to try mixing Createx Monotype printmaking medium BUT they dont sell that product here in the UK. I have a feeling that it would be really helpful. I read their blurb about how to use their inks an dit seems you can let them dry on the plate and later on put them through the press as you would do with watercolor monotype printmaking. Hope you are enjoying your own art. best wishes
Aine Scannell
Sharon,
I came across your website Art News DFW, and I wanted to reach out to you about a project that my company is working on in The Cedars neighborhood of Dallas. The project is an art, retail and culinary pop-up, providing low-cost studio and event space for artists. The studios will be constructed out of refurbished shipping containers, which can then be moved to new pop-up locations.
I was hoping that perhaps you would have a few minutes to discuss the project. Given how active you are in the community I thought you would be an ideal resource to give us your thoughts about how to approach artists who might be interested.
Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.
Cora MacLean
(973) 760-0608
My thoughts on how to market to artists: Post your opportunity on ArtNewsDFW.com, DallasArtsRevue.com, Art&Seek.net, maybe even Craigslist, etc. Contact the arts columnists at the Dallas Observer and Dallas News. Also the local Facebook groups are very effective free tools for getting the word out: Art Groups DFW, the Dallas Art Scene, Artist Call Dallas, Dallas Art Openings, Artexposure Dallas, and Dallas Arttalk. The artist group Art Love Magic is a youthful entrepreneurial group in your area you may want to contact. Plus the MAC is moving to the Cedars area.
Did you live on Locust Street, Bellaire, Texas in late 40’s to 1959?
Nope it was another Sharon Giles. There’s lots of us, but I’m only a Giles by marriage.