Sharon Russell grew up in the Pacific Northwest with 3 siblings, her lumberjack father, and mother from New York City. She loved the green trees and grass of the forests and the beautiful colorful flowers her sophisticated mother planted around their house; and these images often show up in her work. Sharon has also always been intrigued with the beauty and mystery of the archetypal images of the feminine. As a child she felt an intense connection with the Virgin Mary and loved to say prayers next to statues and pictures of her in church. After graduating from Cal State Long Beach, Sharon worked for about 10 years in the graphic design field in Los Angeles, CA while painting and creating serigraphs. No longer satisfied to just do beautiful images, she began to ask herself "what is my message?"--with no immediate answer.

Eventually, Sharon went back to school to study Jungian and Transpersonal Psychology and was a psychotherapist for 15 years, during which time she participated in women's groups, some of which had themes of the goddess. Then one day in 1999, she began to be flooded with images of the feminine that had an uplifting and inspiring message. Some of them came in dreams, some during meditation, and some while she sat with pencil and paper. Then, many watercolor paintings later, the idea of using the dragon to explain the story of the shadow and individuation were created.

Sharon has lived in Ojai, CA since 1984 and continues to create her storybook-mythological watercolor images. Her images can be bought in card form or prints.