Connecticut

Sharon Stone’s paintings featured in new exhibit at C. Parker Gallery in Connecticut

Published

1 year ago

October 16, 2023

Sharon Stone’s paintings featured in new exhibit at C. Parker Gallery in Connecticut

GREENWICH, Connecticut (WABC) — Sharon Stone is best known as a star who can act with the best of them, but she is also an activist, author, and painter. She began sketching as a child, inspired by an aunt who painted murals.

Stone pursued a fine arts degree in college but had to drop out when her career started to take off.

She returned to her first love during the pandemic and has now produced enough work to have her own show at a Connecticut gallery. Sandy Kenyon met up with her there.

I was really looking forward to talking to Sharon Stone again and she did not disappoint. Her intelligence is obvious, but so is her formidable courage.

I first met her just before she became the toast of Hollywood in the 1990’s, when as she puts it: “acting took over” her life in a “very big way.”

She was equal parts sexy and smart. One of her scenes is so memorable it remains vivid in the minds of millions more than 30 years after “Basic Instinct” was released. Stone’s role in “Casino” earned her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.

“They had it all. They ran the show,” she said in “Casino.”

Now, a different kind of show in Connecticut, and a return to a pursuit from childhood, because before the star ever acted she painted.

“What is very different about painting is that it just comes from spirit, and it comes onto the canvas so it’s very true. It’s very pure,” she said.

We met the star at the C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich just before the opening of her show called “Welcome to My Garden.” The title reflects the inspiration she found in her California home.

“When COVID happened, I had all this time and started to paint again, and I started to paint ferociously and obsessively,” Stone said.

Her bedroom got so crowded with her artwork, that Stone had to relocate to her guesthouse.

“My kids just thought I’d lost my mind,” she said.

But “Art News” called her work “wonderful” and the most expensive canvas there costs more than $60,000.

But her real reward is greater peace of mind after decades spent with a hidden disability.

“I had a massive stroke and a brain hemorrhage, and I, as a result of that, I have a brain seizure condition and for many years I tried to mask that condition,” she said.

Recently Stone said “no more” hiding.

“And I think painting brought me to that. I think it allowed me to have my own garden, be in myself, be comfortable with me, and know that I’m good enough as I am and feel OK about that,” she said.

Stone told me new medication, a time-release formula, helps her better control her seizures, and this medical challenge has not prevented her from spending decades raising money for AIDS research among many other causes. The word that best describes her is “impressive.”

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Eric Risberg

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Connecticut

Gifts of Love provides for Connecticut families in crisis

Published

23 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Gifts of Love provides for Connecticut families in crisis

AVON, Conn. (WTNH) — Hundreds of families were given the opportunity to make their holidays brighter Saturday with a trip to Gift of Love’s annual Holiday Shop in Avon. In its 15th year, the Holiday Shop has been able to help 400 clients from 40 different towns across Connecticut since the shop opened on Friday. […]

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Connecticut

Connecticut National Guard families come together for annual holiday event

Published

8 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Connecticut National Guard families come together for annual holiday event

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) — On Saturday morning, families of the Connecticut National Guard gathered for an annual event designed to provide support and comfort during the holiday season.

Operation Embracing Lonely Families has been a tradition for 23 years, offering much-needed support to military families separated from loved ones who are deployed.

The event focuses on easing some of the financial burden and emotional stress that military families face during deployments, especially during the holidays.

“It’s an enjoyment because it brings everyone closer during the holiday so they can still be around their family too,” said Newton Maldonado, a National Guard soldier.

One of the attendees, Nicole Scalora, whose husband was recently deployed to Africa for a year, shared the challenges of military life.

“It’s tough. We have to take it one day at a time. Doing everything at home by yourself, not having that shoulder to rely on can be difficult. But I have a lot of family and a lot of support, so that helped a lot. Also, the military is constantly reaching out. Making sure that we’re good and that if we need help, they’re there,” she said.

Saturday’s event included treats and toys for the families, as well as a visit from Santa Claus.

The tradition, which began under former Governor Jodi Rell and continued by each subsequent Lieutenant Governor, has become a symbol of appreciation for those who serve and their families.

While this year’s ceremony was smaller in scale, organizers are expecting the event to grow significantly next year, with nearly 800 families anticipated to attend.

These families are affected by the various deployments of National Guard members overseas.

Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz expressed her gratitude, noting, “, I’m really glad for the people of Connecticut that our celebration is rather small, because it means our national guard families are here at home celebrating.”

The event remains an important opportunity for the community to come together and honor the sacrifices made by military families throughout Connecticut.

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