SHARON STRAND SIGFUSON, a Canadian Artist, was born to a Scandinavian family in the little town of Preeceville Saskatchewan. Growing up on a farm near this community she discovered her love of art throught the magical images in the Fine Arts Sections of the family's 'Books of Knowledge'.
Sharon spent her teen years in Uranium City, Saskatchewan, on the northern shores of Lake Athabasca. Throughout these years she began to capture likenesses of friends and family in her drawings.
As a young adult she pursued her interest in art by enrolling in the 'Famous Artists Schools'  correpondence course in fine arts oil painting. Over the years when opportunity presented itself, she continued her art education with classes offered by the University of Saskatchewan and the Emma Lake School of Fine Arts.
Many years were spent in painting wildlife and wildflowers. For the past ten years the artist has studied and developed her first love, the rendition of portraiture and human form. History was always a second love and the artist combined these two interests to create a series of  nostalgic heritage works depiciting rural life and farming with horses from the early 1900's to the mid 1950's. These compostions were developed from a combination of memories plus family and archival black and white photos. Color reference for these works came from many excursions with her camera into the surrounding countryside to capture the  (light of the day), which varies from season to season, day to day and hour to hour.
The artist works primarily on stretched canvas with oil color. The compositions are first worked out with pencil on paper. After determining the size that will best work for the composition, she stretches her canvas and tones it with burnt umber. The actual work begins the next day so the tone has time to dry. The composition is then drawn on the canvas, ususally with a #4 filbert brush. A larger brush is used to suggest the shadow areas with the same burnt umber and a rag is often used to wipe the areas that will receive the most light. Now the actual painting begins. The artist works from dark to light in an alla prima style.
The artist has received significant recognition for her work which include:
Finalist in the ACACA Alberta show - 1979
Second over all levels of competition in full color and composition at 'Reflections of Nature' in Saskatoon, SK - 1993
First in animal portraiture 'Reflections of Nature'  Saskatoon SK - 1994
One month exhibit of her work at  the Royal Oak Gallery, Saskatoon - 1995
Print of work presented to the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan - 1995
Juried into the 'International Gardener Conf. Show' Saskatoon - 1996
Two works finalists in the 'Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Show '
 Regina - 1996
Illustrator for a publication of the University of Saskatchewan's ' The Saskatchewan Herb Data Base' 1996
Third - advanced level at the 'Saskatchewan Exhibition of Fine Art'- 1997
Adult award of excellence at the Melfort OSAC show - 1998
First in the Lake Diefenbaker Annual Art Competition - 2004
First in the Melfort OSAC show 2004
Solo show - one month- St. Andrew's Gallery, Humboldt SK-2005
Solo show - one week - Allied Arts Council, Hudson Bay, SK-2005
Solo show - one month - Cumberland Gallery, Regina SK-2006
Work over the last two years includes several commissions