Sharon Gottula
About Sharon
Sharon Gottula's artistic journey took a transformative turn in 2010 when she saw her first encaustic painting. This encounter redirected the course of her work, steering it from photography to multimedia compositions.
A Leo with a fire-heavy astrological chart, painting with a blowtorch felt like a natural extension of her creative expression. Deeply interested in the environment The natural substances of wax and damar enhance and intensify the environmental themes that feature heavily in her work.
“My work has always been about the story. Exploring topics such as climate change, human nature, and the ever-hastening passage of time.”
A graduate of San Francisco State University, she earned her BA in Fine Art with an emphasis in photography. An active member of the San Francisco photography scene she was involved at San Francisco Camerawork and the Ansel Adams Society working behind the scenes to organize shows, artist talks and fundraising activities.
After a storied career as a commercial, editorial and portrait photographer in Los Angeles Gottula now lives and works from her home studio near Seattle, WA.
In her encaustic pieces, Gottula juxtaposes transparent and opaque layers, integrating photography, fabric, and paper to create a complex, narrative storyline. Through this combination of diverse elements, she chronicles the transient nature of memory, captures the fragmented moments of human existence, and reflects upon the endangered fragility of our surroundings.
You can view Sharon’s work at:
https://sharongottula.com
https://www.instagram.com/sharongottulastudios
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFFi3HHsII1fqro1UcekFg
https://bsky.app/profile/sharongottulaart.bsky.social
Class Details
Picture Perfect: Photographing Your Encaustic Masterpieces
Capturing the luminosity, depth, and texture of encaustic paintings can be challenging—not to mention achieving accurate color reproduction. However, we know that exceptional photography is the key to getting into juried shows, impressing gallery owners, and creating stunning art prints.
In this class, I’ll guide you through my proven method for capturing beautiful images of your work. Using an affordable LED lighting kit—and even your phone camera—you’ll learn how to take professional-quality photos with ease.
Organizing and Editing Your Artwork with Lightroom & Photoshop
Learn how to efficiently organize, archive, and edit your artwork using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. This class walks you through setting up a streamlined workflow—from importing and keywording images to creating collections and exporting files for web and marketing. You'll also learn essential Photoshop techniques for color correction, background removal, and non-destructive editing. Perfect for artists who want to save time and keep their digital portfolio ready for social media, PR, or even a museum retrospective!
