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About the Artist

Sharon is a Montana-based wildlife artist whose acrylic paintings capture the raw beauty and spirit of North America's wild places. Influenced by the photography of her father, Bill Kinney, Sharon grew up sketching wildlife from his photos—a practice that rooted her deeply in both art and the natural world.

While she works across diverse surfaces like canvas, vintage leather, sawblades, knives, and skulls, Sharon has recently developed a specialty in painting on hides. This unique path began when a friend asked her to paint on his brain-tanned hides. Though the originals were lost to a cold winter and a broken freezer, the idea stuck—and others soon began bringing her hides to work on. Since then, it’s taken off.

Growing up in a strong hunting community, Sharon has always valued the idea that every part of an animal should be used whenever possible. With the fur trade slowing down in recent years, many hides that once held value are now discarded. In fact, it’s often cheaper to buy a hide than to tan one. With a freezer that fills every season, and a desire to waste less, Sharon found herself diving deeper—eventually attending a fur auction and connecting with others in the industry. Now she collects untanned or damaged hides, surplus furs, and even those set aside by hunters specifically for repurposing.

Through her art, Sharon honors the animals, the land, and the stories that connect people to both. Each piece is not only a painting—it’s a preservation of wild beauty on a surface that might have otherwise been forgotten.