This small drawing was intended as a sketch
for a stage design. Sharon was as talented using
a pen as she was using watercolors although, as
far as I can remember, this was the only work which
was a pure drawing that she ever showed me.
The titles listed beside the drawing are songs
which I'm pretty sure were her own compositions.
Sharon was a singer/musician, and she spent most
of her creative time working at that. And she was
very good too. Her and her band once played some
of their stuff on the UBC radio station, and it
rocked. And I remember going to see her play at a
cafe on Carrall one November evening, a set with
an acoustic guitar. - But I have to admit I
regreted just a little the fact she didn't spend
more time on the art of drawing than the art of
music. I never said that to her, but I know she
sensed it, and it annoyed her.
She was very sympathetic towards residents of the
downtown eastside. The street signs on the drawing
read 'LOVELESS' and 'NOWHERE'. In 1986 tenants
were being evicted from their rooms so the
landlords could make a neat little stack renting
space to tourists visiting Expo. Many of these
tenants had occupied rooms for years, and some
of them committed suicide when they were forced
to leave. - Sharon did a watercolor in red, the
color of blood, a very striking image inspired
by these suicides. A very powerful piece of work.
I wish I could say I owned it. Whoever does,
I hope they keep it well.
GALLERY501