Sharon Irla - Native American Artist

About The Artist

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Sharon Irla (b. 1957 -- ) is a contemporary Cherokee artist whose collective body of works span the fields of painting, murals, graphics, photography and now picture frame designs (Native American-style). She currently resides in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where she works from her private home studio.

•Themes - Irla’s current artistic field of focus is that of oil paintings, which are almost exclusively portraits of Native American women in which Irla seeks to capture contemporary, traditional and historical Cherokee feminine and matriarchal themes. Her works reach beyond the visual aesthetic, broaching the realm of historian, as Irla is very purposeful in researching and choosing subject matters that will illustrate the presence and importance of Native American women – both in historic and contemporary settings.

“Throughout history,” Irla notes, “Native American women have been depicted in art far less often than Native American men, yet women played at least as important a role. For instance, the Cherokee used to have a Council of Women, and some Cherokee women, like Nanyehi (Nancy Ward), rose to the honored status of Beloved Woman, or War Woman. These women rendered considerably weighty tribal decisions, but we don’t find paintings of many of them.”

Irla’s historic-themed portraits of Cherokee women, therefore, begin to fill a gender gap left by previous generations of artists. These would include Irla’s works such as, Aunt Jane Benge (1999), She Was A Warrior (2003), Medicine Woman (2003), Mississippian Ink (2008) and Beloved Woman of The Cherokee (her most recent work, having won Best of Show in both the 2009 Cherokee Holiday Art Show - Tahlequah, OK and the 2009 Southeastern Art Show and Market - Ada, OK, and 1st Place in the 2010 Trail of Tears Art Show, Cherokee Heritage Center - Tahlequah, OK).

For her contemporary themes, Irla situates live models in dress, pose, and settings, where she seeks to explore the multifaceted form and spirit of the “everyday” native woman – balanced in the cusp of traditional roots and modern living. Examples of these works would include Cherokee Beauty (2007) and Crows Stir the Magic (2008).

•Technique - To the casual passer-by, Irla’s richly painted portraits of Native American women are often mistaken for photographs or photo-realism, however, her technique would more aptly be categorized as realism flourished with tenebrism. Irla views photo-realism as “a bit too mechanistic” for her taste, with an end goal of creating an exact duplicate. By contrast, with her hybrid style of realism, her stated end goal is “to create art” – the locus of which is “to capture the spirit of the subject matter, not duplicate for the sake of duplicating.”

Through early work as a commissioned muralist, Irla acquired the painting techniques required of a commissioned artist, muralist and decorative artist - all rolled into one. She credits this period of time as the experience through which she “… learned that faux finish techniques brought a better understanding of how the juxtaposition of colors, layers of paint, glazes, and a large variety of brushes all play a major role in achieving realism.”

Irla researched and tested multiple approaches before settling on the Old Master techniques employed by Caravaggio. In fact, she cites Caravaggio as being most influential toward the development of her own method, which is a combining of dramatic illumination and Old Masters technique.

•Unique Frames - Collectors of some of Irla’s Cherokee female portraits are, in effect, acquiring two works of art, as Irla designs and hand- builds large custom frames for her most recent paintings. These unique, custom frames subtly incorporate stylized ancient Cherokee / Southeastern Woodland symbols and iconography, which delicately echo and enhance the themes established within the paintings.

•Movement - Like many other contemporary Cherokee artists, Irla is very cognizant of the fact that she is creating works during a unique historical phase, which some would term as nothing short of a renaissance. Since the late 20th century, there has been an artistic movement afoot in NE Oklahoma and North Carolina, the focus of which is to promote Southeastern and Woodland Native American art though the combining of artistic creation with that of intense scholarship.

Some of the earliest work of this movement came in the 1970’s from Cherokee Master Artist, Anna B. Mitchell (1926), whose award-winning traditional Cherokee pottery challenged the commercial, stereotypical concept of American Indian Art. Mitchell’s well-researched works helped re-awaken the art community to the fact that the Southeastern Woodlands are the ancestral homelands of the Cherokee -- not the plains of Oklahoma. Prior to 1970, many Cherokee artists were utilizing Plains Indian and Southwestern Indian artistic styles and themes in their works. And while this may have been commercially successful, it lacked a certain authenticity, which Mitchell’s works brought to light.

In stark contrast to SW and Plains tribal art, Southeastern/Woodland art employs effigies and rich iconography that depicts mythical creatures, sacred plants, animals, reptiles, insects, goddesses, and rituals that are unique to the Southeast. The notion of recapturing authenticity invited a whole new generation of Cherokee artists to examined and utilize ancient Cherokee design, cosmology, and history in their work.

From 1980 and forward, several notable “authentic” Cherokee artists began to emerge. For example, the intricately beaded bandolier bags, moccasins, and sashes, by Cherokee Beader, Martha Berry, are not only beautiful works of art, but carry with them a history of ancient Cherokee geometric designs, life and dress. The militaristic depictions of historical figures and events by Cherokee painter/sculptor, Talmadge Davis (1962-2005) fit well within this movement – as do the works of Cherokee potters Victoria Vasquez, PJ Gilliam-Stewart, Bill Glass, Chrystal Hanna and several others. Also noteworthy is the Chattanoogas 21 Century Riverfront Project (2005) in which Irla and several other Cherokee artists assisted the GaDuGi art- team of Bill Glass, Demos Glass, Robby McMurtry, Knovtee Scott and Ken Foster. Like Anna Mitchell, these and other artists have contributed to and helped preserve the knowledge base of Cherokee Woodland life, which was previously nearly lost to Western assimilation, Indian removal, and Pan-Indian artistic conflation.

Within this renaissance movement, contemporary Cherokee artists seek to correct the historical record by recapturing and reintroducing the Tribe’s accurate historic art, cultural, and cosmological understandings in contemporary works of art. And it is within this movement that Sharon Irla has begun to establish her own niche as a contemporary painter, muralist, photographer … and community organizer.

•Artistic Movement & Community Organization - The importance of combining artistic movement with that of community organization cannot be over-stated, for the very cradle of the current renaissance rests at this intersection. Here, a notable shift in Cherokee tribal identify has taken root. Here, authenticity can be seen to facilitate self-determination, which in turn helps to sustain a sizable portion of the local art community.

Such is the intent of the non-profit Cherokee Artists Association, Inc., of which Irla is a founding member. Incorporated in 2004, and based in Tahlequah, Ok, the volunteers of the Cherokee Artists Association (CAA) have been instrumental in establishing and securing sponsors for two additional competitive art shows in the region. The annual Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, and the annual CAA Show & Sale now provide additional venues and over $90,000 in annual prize money for Cherokee artists. Neither of these programs would likely exist were it not for the organizational and community actions of the CAA membership.

Also directly attributable to the efforts of the CAA, the business, legal, and administrative branches of the Cherokee Nation adopted policies and enacted new laws in 2007, which begin to protect the copyrights and other interests of artists who sell their creations to the tribe. In 2008, the CAA’s modest, but successful fund-raising campaigns enabled the group to establish physical offices in which the group holds meetings, offers artists workshops, and conducts seminars. In that same year, the CAA also established an art gallery where CAA members have the opportunity to show and sell their works direct to the public, year round – and where Irla’s works are regularly displayed.

Importantly, then, this renaissance isn’t just about art as a decorative function, but it is about how art can unite a community, influence policy, and sustain a culture, both metaphorically and literally.

•Career Phases - Irla’s professional art career began in earnest in 1988 when she founded the graphic arts firm, “In-Print” in Dallas, Texas. She spent ten years in the Dallas area as a successful, self-employed graphic artist, during which time she juggled her career with that of being a single mother. When her only offspring (a daughter), reached adulthood, Irla felt she could finally take the financial risks that come with that of being an emerging artist.

In 1999, collaborating with muralist Leslie Young, Irla began taking commissions to create murals and decorative art for businesses and multi-million dollar homes. She soon landed a 2-year solo project in which she created several Trompe l'oeil murals in an Italian Villa styled home. These well-received, realistic murals were featured on the Texas home-design TV show, "Designing Texas."

In 2003 Irla left the financially lucrative region of Dallas and moved to NE Oklahoma to be closer to her Cherokee roots and to immerse herself in the SE Woodland art movement that is still evolving in this region. Since that move, Irla’s paintings have been accepted in all competitive art shows of the region, and her work has consistently received awards in each, to include:

•Honorable Mention - 2003 Home Coming Art show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK - "She Was A Warrior"

•Honorable Mention - 2005 Home Coming Art show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK - "Serpentine Birds"

•Best Of Show - 2007 Cherokee Art Market, Catoosa, OK - "Cherokee Beauty I - The Shell Earring"

•Best of Category (paintings) - 2007 Cherokee Art Market, Catoosa, OK - "Cherokee Beauty I - The Shell Earring"

•Best Of Category (paintings) - 2007 Trail Of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Cherokee Beauty I - The Shell Earring"

•Chief's Choice - 2007 Cherokee Nation Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Cherokee Beauty I - The Shell Earring"

•1st Place - 2007 Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Tellico Mysteries"

•Honorable Mention - 2007 Trail of Tears Art Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK - "Tellico Mysteries"

•Best Of Category (paintings) - 2008 Trail Of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Crows Stirring The Magic"

•First Place - 2008 Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Crows Stirring The Magic"

•Speaker Of The Council Award - 2008 Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Crows Stirring The Magic"

•Chief's Choice Award - 2008 Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK - "Warrior's Call"

•Best Of Show - 2008 Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show, Muskogee, OK - "Mother's Prayer"

•Peoples' Choice - 2008 Five Civilized Tribes Museum, Muskogee, OK - "Mother's Prayer"

•Honorable Mention - 2008 Trail of Tears Art Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK - "Mother's Prayer"

•Best of Show - 2009 Southeastern Art Show (Chickasaw Nation) Ada, OK - "Beloved Woman of The Cherokee - Nanyehi"

•Best of Show - 2009 Cherokee Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK "Beloved Woman of The Cherokee - Nanyehi"

•1st Place - 2009 Southeastern Art Show (Chickasaw Nation) Ada, OK - "Crows Stirring The Magic"

•1st Place - 2010 Trail Of Tears Art Show, Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK - "Beloved Woman of The Cherokee - Nanyehi"

•Peoples' Choice - 2010 Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show, Muskogee, OK - "Beloved Woman of The Cherokee - Nanyehi"

•2nd Place - 2010 Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show, Muskogee, OK - "Beloved Woman of The Cherokee - Nanyehi"

•Best of 2 Dimensional Category - 2010 Southeastern Art Show (Chickasaw Nation) Ada, OK - "Necessity Is The Mother"

•Best of Graphics - 2010 Southeastern Art Show (Chickasaw Nation) Ada, OK - "Letter From Brave Bull"

•Best of Photography - 2010 Southeastern Art Show (Chickasaw Nation) Ada, OK - "I Only Have Fish Eyes For You"

•1st Place - 2010 Cherokee Holiday Art Show, Tahlequah, OK "Necessity Is The Mother"

•1st Place - 2011 Trail Of Tears Art Show, Tahlequah, OK "The Corn Mother"

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