Grace Sharpe

I take my inspiration from the natural world. I create large, dynamic, colorful works on canvas. The beauty of shape and form in relationship to each other is what inspires me. How the spaces between tells a story. I try to capture the profound beauty and expression that I see in nature.

When painting, I first stain the canvas in a spontaneous manner. This approach to my canvas allows color relationships to happen that I couldn’t plan. This process lends itself to rich layers of color, creating depth and texture. Next, I go in with detail and movement. I fuse abstraction in my compositions with reality in my rendered brushwork. I bring in contrasting colors to delineate the beauty of the form that originally inspired me. As much as I am interested in depicting solid form I am equally intent on capturing the energy and movement of life. After more than 40 years of painting I’ve come to trust my instincts in decision making and the spontaneous movement of my hand. My intention is to use movement to capture the interconnectedness I see in the world around me. And when the spontaneous underpainted fuses with the more rendered areas to reveal the subject in just the right way I am joyful in its magic.