About Sheila A. Mahoney

The deceptively simple motifs displayed by sepia-toned images often belie there hidden intricacies. This is what makes images lacking a diversity of color so enthralling. Focusing on the richly detailed aspects of an image lacking color can be just as rewarding as examining the rich hues of a vibrantly colored image. This truth is what ultimately anchors the work of artists like Sheila A. Mahoney. Expressing the gratification she feels when she illustrates portraits comprised of sanguine, charcoal, and sepia, Mahoney gives her viewers a robust conception of the kind of portraiture she wishes to show the world. As impressively detailed and consistent with European classical conventions of contemporary realism as her drawings can be, Mahoney is not content to limit herself to images which lack complex hues. Her oil paintings demonstrate her familiarity with the effectiveness of color by accentuating the facial details of her portraits to striking effect. Influences, most notably from 18th and 19th century European artists, can be seen within her works and her fascination with the anatomical structure of the human face also proves evident in the exhaustive delineations of her portraits. Mahoney’s aim as an artist proves as characteristic as the convention of art itself. She wishes to capture what she sees and reflect such a vision back onto her viewers through the lens of her canvas. The connection that she feels to others as well as her own art when she illustrates the world around her cannot be rivaled by anything else.