Aylin and Jeff ’s Lockdown Legacy
Lockdown Legacy is the Oxmarket Gallery exhibition in Chichester from husband and wife artists Aylin and Jeff Sharp (November 29-December 5).
“The recent series of lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult in many ways but has offered an unprecedented opportunity for some people to focus more completely on their creative talents,” Jeff said.
He and Aylin used the time by producing paintings based on previous research material.
With the reduction in external distractions, and in particular noise levels, Aylin and Jeff found the initial lockdown in early 2020 to be an “extraordinarily peaceful and inspiring time” although as the lockdowns continued they both found their creativity challenged.
“This may have been due to a lack of stimulation and interaction and the loss of opportunities for cultural activities. The world has seemed a lesser place without seeing friends and family, without gallery and museum visits, sketching trips, outside entertainment and the ability to travel locally or further afield.”
During the last lockdown this sense of loss peaked and they both found their motivation fluctuating. However, release from lockdown enabled visits and sketching trips to resume. Jeff says he hopes their renewed enthusiasm shows in some of the more recent works.
The exhibition features more than 50 landscapes, townscapes and seascapes, in oils.
Aylin Dengizer-sharp has worked as a professional artist more than 25 years.
She completed her foundation studies at West Sussex College of Art and Design in Worthing, then moved abroad and studied graphic design in Savannah, Georgia, in the 1990s.
She later lived and worked as an artist in the Bahamas and Spain, painting seascapes, marine life, and local street scenes using mainly oils and acrylics.
Aylin moved back to the UK in 2003, and later studied fine art at Northbrook College.
Jeff has painted for most of his adult life and since retirement from local government three years ago has tried to spend more time painting. He has a degree in fine art and concentrates primarily on landscapes, townscapes and coastal scenes in oils.