Q&A With Official CCHS Artist Sharon Lynn Campbell
What is your role at the Capital Challenge Horse Show?
I create the poster art, the prize list front cover, and the cover for the program, which gets distributed at the show. The rider who wins the WCHR Professional Finals gets to be on the official poster. The job consists of three different pieces for Capital Challenge every year.
What is your background with horses?
I’ve been riding since I was eight. We had a farm in Indiana, and we started importing horses from Holland in the 80s, so I was showing, training, and teaching hunter/jumper — we had 36 horses in the barn. Back then, the blacksmiths were used to thoroughbreds or quarter horses, and when we got the warmbloods a couple of them got hurt by the farrier, so I went to shoeing school. I would shoe two in the morning, then ride 10 horses, then teach in the evening.
How did you get into equestrian art?
I went through a divorce and spent seven years on my own with my three kids. Then I met my now husband, and we married in July 1999. In September of 1999, my faith led me to paint; God told me to do this. I’ve been booked up ever since; it’s been crazy that I’ve had clients year-round right from the start. I have no formal training — just high school art classes. I didn’t go to college because back then all I wanted to do was show horses and rid
What is your painting schedule?
I literally paint every day of my life now, with five to eight paintings always going. I’m constantly busy and there is never a slow time for me, which is also a blessing. My work is all commissioned, either for an individual or a show. I’ve painted hundreds of portraits, but I still get excited about every single one.
Right now I am working on one that is going in the governor’s mansion in Richmond, VA. Governor Glenn Youngkin and his wife, Suzanne, just bought the last painting I had there for their private collection and asked me if I would lend them a painting for a year for display.
What is the story behind cover art for the 2024 CCHS prize list?
McQueen won so much in the past year, so I asked his owners if we could do a photo shoot for the prize list cover while he was in Florida. They sent all his coolers and ribbons, and I think he looks so regal and noble. I always paint from photos. I take a ton of pictures and then come up with the main pose, but then I use others to reference color and details.
How long does each painting take you?
There are so many variables. I work on many at once because the oil paint dries in layers — the white paint can take days. You can’t rush it, otherwise the paintbrush pulls all the paint layers off right back to the canvas, so I always have many in progress.
Where and when do you work?
I work from home in Madison County, VA. My studio has vaulted ceilings to accommodate big canvases, and it fits 12 easels. I work on a painting then sit on the sofa to take a look at it. I’m a night owl and do most of my work from midnight until morning because it’s quiet. I watch old sitcoms like Golden Girls. It’s just my husband and I here with our 14-year-old dog.
Is there something a painting can do that a photograph can’t?
There is something about the depth and richness of the oil painting, and I can get the horse’s eye just right. The facial expression is the life of the painting, and I can capture those little details — down to their eyebrows. The expression is crucial.
People also ask me to shine their boots or change a background — I can do all of that. I’m a horse person before an artist, which really helps.