Sonsoles Shack

Sonsoles grew up within a family of artists in Madrid, Spain. From an early age she demonstrated a passion for art and she drew well, always inspired by her father, a renown sculptor. She has been drawing and painting since childhood. She is an artist fascinated with portraiture of people and animals, and the depiction of light and dramatic contrasts, which is a common theme in most of her work.

She has been an art instructor for over 16 years, and teaches private classes and workshops at the Cactus Wren Art Gallery in Tubac, AZ, the Tubac School of Fine Art, and the Community Performance and Arts Center (Green Valley, AZ), where she also shows her work. In addition her paintings have been shown at Ben’s Fine Art Gallery, the Mountain Artist Guild Gallery, the Phippen Art Museum in Prescott, AZ, -and participated in their juried annual Western art shows-, and the Tubac Center of the Arts.

Sonsoles has a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetic from the University of Maryland in College Park. She worked as a molecular biologist for 28 years in cancer research laboratories in Maryland and Arizona.
Her art education includes classes at the University of Maryland, the Montpelier Arts Center (MD), and the Scottsdale Artists School (AZ). She studied with renowned instructors like Amery Bohling, Phil Beck, James Coulter, Robert Goldman, Ray Roberts, Peggi Kroll-Roberts, David Harlan, Cody DeLong, Barbara Mulleneaux and Chris Saper.

She has received awards from the Portrait Artists of Arizona, the Best & Brightest show at the Scottsdale Artist School, the Mountain Artist Guild and the Community Performance and Arts Center (Green Valley, AZ). Her artwork has been selected twice as the FAV15 or jury’s favorite 15% of the entries in the September and November 2024 BoldBrush international painting competition. She is currently represented by The Cactus Wren Art gallery in Tubac AZ, and Global Arts in Patagonia AZ.