Sometimes all it takes is great art to enliven a space. No one knows that better than artist and creative director Sharon Marie Hayes, recognized for her vibrant contemporary figurative and abstract oil paintings. Her impressive client roster as a creative director includes The Coca-Cola Company, The Kellogg Company, Hasbro and HBO Television, to mention a few.
A freelance artist since the 1980s, Hayes has regularly been commissioned for custom oil paintings. St Louis restaurant and business owners hire her for her artistic eye, but she has also been known for her line of Christian art collected by local priests for churches and private collections. Hayes was commissioned, for example, by Father Biondi when he was President at Saint Louis University for three paintings later installed in the Busch Student Center.
Perhaps one of her greatest—and most recent—projects is a grand mural for St. Monica’s Church in Creve Coeur. This marks the first time she has created work specifically for a church, covering the walls in the church with smaller artwork as well as the sanctuary, which received a 40 foot wide and 17 foot tall mural she designed flanking the church's existing crucifix and illuminating Christ in pops of brilliant colors.
The mural was meant to usher light and life back into the space and be a visual extension of the Host during mass. St Monica’s Church experienced a fire many years back, leaving the sanctuary desolate and barren. A fan of her work, Father Sebastian Mandackal reached out to Hayes to create the artwork for the ambitious mural that would set the right tone for the building and inspire attendees. This was after she donated a painting in honor of Monsignor Schneider that was framed with a gold leaf wooden frame donated by The Great Frame-Up in Clayton.
The mural would prove a massive undertaking, but one Hayes couldn’t wait to start. “Although many people sought the priest’s advice and attended church, it was the sort of space that no one wanted to get married in,” Hayes reveals, describing what the sanctuary looked like when she stepped in to review it. “There were just banners in the sanctuary, and they looked like they were from the 1970s and a bit outdated,” she adds. “But that was all they could do to cover what the fire had left.” The side walls were painted blue to which she added a gold leafing effect. Next, she layered in the crescent shaped colors surrounding the figure of Christ on the sanctuary wall. The designs were then installed by Image 360.
The work for the church follows another recent piece she’s created, a contemporary figurative oil painting called “The Ascension” and depicts Christ being lifted into the heavens by a band of singing angels. For Hayes, she sees the two works as complementary, as both depict Christ but offer two very different styles she excels in: abstract pieces and more contemporary figurative oil paintings. While the church mural looks at the glory of figure, the oil painting reminds viewers of the arduous experience he underwent, with the black background noting the darkness Christ is being lifted from, his wounds have been healed, but signs of exhaustion are evident in his expression. “The oil painting will be at auction and the money raised will be donated to a charitable foundation in honor of Monsignor Nicholas Schneider, who passed during Covid, but no formal memorial could be held,” she says. As with her mural in the church, Hayes hopes her art can bring light from darkness. See more of her work at HayesFineArts.com.
