About
Biography
Hilary Sheehan is a lifelong California resident with a Ph D in Economics from UC Berkeley. The Bay Area artist creates playful abstract paintings, mixed media works and prints as well as short animations. She builds dense surfaces in her compositions using multiple layers of drawing and paint, often incorporating gestural figure drawing. While continually experimenting with new methods and materials she has developed an idiosyncratic style with strong compositions and distinctive calligraphic lines.
Before the age of thirty-one, I was a trained economist with little exposure to art. My artistic practice was limited to drawing stick figures and nearly flunking my junior high art class. In 1991, I took a drawing and painting class from a local community college and was immediately captivated. I became obsessed with art and my conversion from economist to full time artist only took a couple of years.
Cezanne, Matisse and Diebenkorn's mastery of composition and color were my earliest influences. Among contemporary artists, Amy Sillman has also been particularly inspirational with her innovative composition and color in combination with an added dose of humor. I have also been intrigued by Sillman’s experiments in printmaking and animation and how they have influenced her paintings.
My paintings involve a variety of media including oil paint, acrylic, pencil, yarn, watercolor, metro tickets and drywall tape. I work in a series of layers, with each layer contributing depth and texture. A first layer might involve torn maps collaged onto a clay board surface. I will then paint and draw on the surface leaving some of the maps visible. The next step might be covering the painting with gestural figure drawings in pencil from short poses with a live model. Other times I will draw or stencil in abstract shapes in pencil. Next I paint or collage over these drawings, leaving parts of the under drawing exposed. I then repeat the drawing and painting process for several more layers.
My work combines exuberant improvisation with a very disciplined analytic approach, the latter courtesy of the economist side of my brain. I like to contrast the precision of using stencils with the loose gestural marks of blind contour drawing. In addition to painting and drawing, I also experiment with animation and various forms of printmaking. Exploring other media gives me a different perspective and new ideas that infiltrate my paintings. I have developed a continually evolving idiosyncratic style with layers of color and distinctive calligraphic lines.
Cezanne, Matisse and Diebenkorn's mastery of composition and color were my earliest influences. Among contemporary artists, Amy Sillman has also been particularly inspirational with her innovative composition and color in combination with an added dose of humor. I have also been intrigued by Sillman’s experiments in printmaking and animation and how they have influenced her paintings.
My paintings involve a variety of media including oil paint, acrylic, pencil, yarn, watercolor, metro tickets and drywall tape. I work in a series of layers, with each layer contributing depth and texture. A first layer might involve torn maps collaged onto a clay board surface. I will then paint and draw on the surface leaving some of the maps visible. The next step might be covering the painting with gestural figure drawings in pencil from short poses with a live model. Other times I will draw or stencil in abstract shapes in pencil. Next I paint or collage over these drawings, leaving parts of the under drawing exposed. I then repeat the drawing and painting process for several more layers.
My work combines exuberant improvisation with a very disciplined analytic approach, the latter courtesy of the economist side of my brain. I like to contrast the precision of using stencils with the loose gestural marks of blind contour drawing. In addition to painting and drawing, I also experiment with animation and various forms of printmaking. Exploring other media gives me a different perspective and new ideas that infiltrate my paintings. I have developed a continually evolving idiosyncratic style with layers of color and distinctive calligraphic lines.
CV
Hilary Romie Sheehan
Born 1958
hilaryrsheehan.com
Hilaryrsheehan@gmail.com
Education
Extensive classes in drawing, painting and printmaking. Studied painting and drawing under Georgia Goldberg and Chester Arnold and printmaking at Crown Point Press. Ph D in Economics from UC Berkeley 1988.
Recent Exhibitions
2022 "Annual Works on Paper Exhibition", juried by Esther Adler, LBIF, Long Beach, NJ
2021 "Expressions 2021", juried by Randall Sexton, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA
2020 "Figure it Out", juried by Graham Beal, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Healdsburg, CA
2019 "Microcosmos 2" juried by Chester Arnold, Gallery 621, Benicia, CA
2019 "The Red Show", juried by Michael Paglia, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO
2017 Solo Exhibition “Gadgets and Landscapes”, Bay Model Visitors Center, Sausalito CA
2017 Solo Exhibition “Landscapes and Gadgets”, Corte Madera, CA
2016 Group Exhibition, Toadfish Gallery, Sausalito, CA
Solo installations curated by art consultant Lisa Smith
2018, Museum Parc Lobby, San Francisco, CA
2018, 530 Bush St, San Francisco,CA
Community Involvement
Art for Aids juried donations
Dart for Art juried donations
California State Parks Youth Art Contest judge
Collections
Private collection, Toronto ON
Private collection, New York, NY
Private collection, Boston,MA
Private collection, Washington DC
Private collections, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Born 1958
hilaryrsheehan.com
Hilaryrsheehan@gmail.com
Education
Extensive classes in drawing, painting and printmaking. Studied painting and drawing under Georgia Goldberg and Chester Arnold and printmaking at Crown Point Press. Ph D in Economics from UC Berkeley 1988.
Recent Exhibitions
2022 "Annual Works on Paper Exhibition", juried by Esther Adler, LBIF, Long Beach, NJ
2021 "Expressions 2021", juried by Randall Sexton, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA
2020 "Figure it Out", juried by Graham Beal, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Healdsburg, CA
2019 "Microcosmos 2" juried by Chester Arnold, Gallery 621, Benicia, CA
2019 "The Red Show", juried by Michael Paglia, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO
2017 Solo Exhibition “Gadgets and Landscapes”, Bay Model Visitors Center, Sausalito CA
2017 Solo Exhibition “Landscapes and Gadgets”, Corte Madera, CA
2016 Group Exhibition, Toadfish Gallery, Sausalito, CA
Solo installations curated by art consultant Lisa Smith
2018, Museum Parc Lobby, San Francisco, CA
2018, 530 Bush St, San Francisco,CA
Community Involvement
Art for Aids juried donations
Dart for Art juried donations
California State Parks Youth Art Contest judge
Collections
Private collection, Toronto ON
Private collection, New York, NY
Private collection, Boston,MA
Private collection, Washington DC
Private collections, San Francisco Bay Area, CA