Sharon Moroney is an award winning Australian artist working across a wide range of media, with a particular affinity for charcoal, watercolour, pastel and graphite. Art has been a constant companion throughout her life. From the moment she first picked up a pencil at the age of four, drawing became more than a pastime — it was a compulsion, a way of understanding and claiming the world around her.

Encouraged by her mother, a talented artist herself, Sharon’s early fascination with animals and character drawing developed into a lifelong commitment to visual storytelling. This foundation led to professional work as an assistant animator with Hanna-Barbera, followed by several years with Burbank Studios, contributing to full-length animated feature films for television including adaptations such as The Wind in the Willows. She also completed freelance work for Disney — the fulfilment of a childhood dream.

Primarily self-taught in her early years, Sharon later formalised her training, earning a Diploma in Design to build a portfolio for entry into a Visual Arts degree at WSU. Since beginning to exhibit publicly in 2011, she has received numerous awards each year, including multiple First Prizes and Best in Show awards for both wildlife and portraiture across various media. Her work has gained recognition both nationally and internationally.

Her portraits were selected for inclusion in Art Journey – Portraits and Figures, hard cover book, published by North Light Books, a curated international collection of 109 artists. She has appeared in the French publication The Art of Watercolour and was featured in an eight-page article in Australian Artist Magazine, focusing on her wildlife charcoal work. Her watercolour painting The Vanishing #2 was selected for Splash 21 and later featured on the cover of The Best of Watercolor in the United States.

Sharon is particularly drawn to portraiture — of both people and animals — finding it among the most challenging and rewarding of subjects. She seeks to capture not only likeness but essence: the subtle nuances of expression and emotion that reveal deeper narratives. Her work sometimes moves between realism and expressionism, using unexpected combinations of graphite, charcoal, watercolour or pastel to heighten emotional resonance.

Conservation plays a significant role in her practice. Through her series of endangered species works, she was invited to become a Signature Member of Artists for Conservation in Vancouver, Canada. She has donated original works and limited-edition prints to support conservation initiatives both in Australia and internationally, with particular advocacy for Australia’s threatened koala populations. Her imagery has been used in literature and posters for conservation campaigns raising awareness across New South Wales.

Alongside her wildlife and portrait work, Sharon also explores themes of mental and emotional wellbeing. For her, imagery often communicates what words cannot — allowing her to process and express complex inner experiences visually.

Sharon works from her studio in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, where she is surrounded by the  beauty of the landscape and wildlife that continue to inspire her. She accepts commissions across multiple media and regularly facilitates workshops and demonstrations for art societies throughout the Sydney region. She is a member of The Royal Art Society of NSW, Bowral & District Art Society, Drummoyne Art Society, Nepean Art Society and Macarthur Art Group where her work is exhibited throughout the year.

Her practice remains driven by connection — to environment, to subject, and to viewer — and by a lifelong belief that art has the power to make us look more closely, feel more deeply, and care more profoundly.