Sharon Medler is a Scotts Valley Art and Wine Festival veteran.
This year, while the Art and Wine Festival celebrates 10 years, her art will be on display for a ninth year.
Medler, a former interior design student, has painted still life and various scenes for 25 years from the studio in her Scotts Valley home.
Five years ago, Medler made the switch from watercolors to acrylics with strong results.
Her favorite subjects for painting are sunflowers, though she paints colorful beach settings, Adirondack chairs and various landscapes — many of which come from her imagination.
“I love happy colors,” Medler said.
On a trip she made to the often-rainy Anacortes, Wash., the artists at the show knew she was not a Washington local, because her paintings were so bright and lively.
Medler has enjoyed success over the years, which included painting the official event posters for the Capitola Art and Wine Festival, the Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz and the 2006 Scotts Valley Art and Wine festival ad.
“I’m always painting something,” she gushed. “I love color, I love balance, I love composition. I just love creating.”
Medler also is part of California Colorists, a group that meets once a month to talk art, critique each other and visit galleries.
On the side, she serves as the art coordinator for three popular Santa Cruz restaurants. She organizes and rotates art each month at The Silver Spur, Linda’s Seabreeze Café and Sweet Pea’s Café in Capitola.
“I love to support the artists,” she said. “I’ve been doing it for 20 years.”
Her work can be viewed at next week’s festival or online at www.sharonmedler.com.
“I love (the festival), because it’s a nice, fun show, it’s local and it’s just very pleasant,” Medler said.
