Sharon Burns-Knutson

Sharon went to undergraduate school at UNI as a chemistry major. It was during the Vietnam War and because of it, became much more involved in her art classes; she finished a BA in painting. She wanted to go to graduate school right after graduation, but accepted a job teaching in Iowa City Schools because it housed the University of Iowa and the art department was respectable. She only applied for one job in Iowa and this was because Iowa City had a good graduate art program. She ended up teaching for 5 years before attending graduate school at University of Iowa, receiving an MA and MFA in painting. She went back to teaching half-time and painting the other half. She enjoyed the freshness of the young children’s work and how they do not like to linger too long on a project. “I think our temperaments are in sync.”

“I am a painter and have been working on monoprinted printer's paper. I then draw on the flattened surface with a pencil and coat this surface with a polymer to protect the paper. I use Holbein oil paints because I like the thick consistency of the paints and their range of colors. My images are narrative icons of stories about things going on the world around me. The characters may take on animal forms that seem to be like the human that I am putting in these small plays.” -- Sharon Burns-Knutson

SOURCE - https://www.gildedpeargallery.com/sharon-burns-knutson.html#/ (Sept, 2025)