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| Biography of Sheila Runkis, The Color Sensorist™ |
| Sheila came to art somewhat late in life. She had two aunts and a grandfather who were painters, and she always loved art and color, but never thought that she could be an artist. It wasn't until she was in her mid 30's that she bought a few oil colors and started to paint a pansy. She had no formal training and no aspir-ations to earn her living as an artist. She was, after all, a Johnson and Wales trained chef who poured most of her creative juices into exotic food preparation. It took nearly three months to complete the pansy, mostly because she would set it aside for long periods of time. Eventually, though, it would call to her and the piece would progress to the next level. It wasn't a great masterpiece, but when the tiny painting was done some-thing clicked inside her—and no one was prepared for what came next. | ||||
| Sheila's second and third oil paintings graphically demonstrate the amount of natural talent she possesses. But from these beginnings, who could have guessed the direction her art would take. (click pics to enlarge) | ||||
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| Her first paintings were executed in the summer of 1993, and were done entirely without the benefit of any formal training. Since then she was fortunate enough to study under Lenwood Freas, Hong Nian Zhang, and Robert Gamblin, world-renowned artists who helped her internal vision arise and take form. | ||||
| The next advance came when Sheila moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1995. Taos is known worldwide as an art enclave and she fit right in. Her adobe home had straw in the walls and an unobstructed, 180-degree view of Taos Mountain. And, as fate would have it, her next door neighbor turned out to be C J Crawford, an extremely talented artist who works in many styles and media types. They became close friends and often worked together. Sheila also knew and admired other local artists such as RC Gorman, Timothy Nero, Miguel Martinez and Maurice Lowe. She needed to find her "artistic voice," so she tried her hand at photography with excellent results and sold a line of limited edition photographic enlargements of the aerial phenomena surrounding Taos and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Soon after, she learned block printing from C J, and came out with a line of mixed media limited edition prints which she sold in shows and galleries in Taos. | ||||
| In 2000, Sheila moved to Connecticut. There she got involved in the "Art Community," entered her work in local shows, and served as Recording Secretary on the Board of SCAN. Through a close friend, she was introduced to Lenwood Freas, under whose tutelage her artistic freedom emerged. For years she was driven toward the use of vibrant color as a means of expressing the inner vision that was raging to break free, and Len proved to be the perfect mentor. He encouraged her to overcome her fear and sense of pre-conditioned conformity, and suggested exercises that nurtured her innate creativity. He also suggested the title by which she is known today—The Color Sensorist™. She now resides in Mississippi. |
 sheila@colorsensorist.com |
| Exhibitions | ||||||||||
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HeARTS Against AIDS Benefit and Art Exhibition, Jackson, Mississippi, February 2007| Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 | Gallery 3 | Archive 1 |
| Copyright © 2002-2007, Sheila Runkis, All rights reserved The trademarks, ColorSensorism™, Color Sensorist™ and Sensorist™, are the property of Sheila Runkis |