Artist's Statement
I am drawn to the beauty of shape and how light delineates form. I find the negative space as interesting as the positive and enjoy revealing the story as told by the spaces between. I love the experience of looking deeply at my subject, honoring its perfections and imperfections and capturing its expression through the movement of my brush.
When painting, I first stain the canvas in a spontaneous manner allowing unexpected things to happen. Next I lay in composition and go in with detail. I try to stay free with my brush stroke in movement and color in my attempt to fuse the abstract with reality. 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 30 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 underpainting fuses with the more rendered areas to reveal the subject in just the right way I am joyful in its magic.
Discovering The Artist Within | Grace Sharpe
The youngest of six children, Grace W. Sharpe grew up in Hazlet, New Jersey. Her most prominent childhood memories are tromping through the woods behind her house and climbing trees. Vacations for the family of eight meant all piling in a wood panel station wagon and driving to a campground somewhere along the East Coast from Maine to Florida. In her art, she has never lost her love of the woods, always coming home to rocks, trees and nature.
Although Grace realized she could draw as a teenager, she wasn’t someone who imagined she would grow up to be an artist. Her early interests were in psychology, math and science. She remembers taking great satisfaction in solving math equations. She also loved physics and biology. Always so intrigued and excited to learn what makes the world around her tick. She decided to study Science and Art at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. with the goal of being a medical illustrator. There she discovered the true artist in her and knew that painting would always be a focal point in her life. She graduated with a Bachelor in the Arts. After college she studied with Myron Barnstone in Copley, Pa where she was classically trained.
She says “It was here I got command of my drawing. Studying and copying great Masters like Michelangelo revealed to me the underlying principles of logic and mathematics as applied to drawing. It was so exciting!” She has taught these techniques in community art classes over the years.
A year into her study at the Barnstone Studios, her boyfriend Tim had a horrific car accident that led her back to her home in New Jersey so she could be close to him. He was in the hospital for over three months and she sat beside him, as he recuperated and would draw almost everyone that came for a visit. During this period she also honed her craft by copying every John Singer Sargent charcoal portrait. A few years later they married and started their life together.
After marrying she and her husband moved into a second floor one bedroom apartment in Staten Island, New York. Although the apartment was small Grace took over a sunroom for her studio. It was here that she painted by day and waitressed at night. Grace had a regular customer who was an Interior Designer and took an interest in her works on canvas. He had a vision of a mural in the foyer of one of his clients and asked if she would paint it. Preparedness then met opportunity. That was the beginning of her 30 year career as a decorative painter. She soon gave up her waitress job and started her business Grace Your Space.
Always the professional, Sharpe wanted to learn more about operating a business and the latest techniques in faux finishing. Grace heard about the Finishing School in Long Island, New York where she learned all of the most up to date and unique wall finishes in stones, plasters, glazes etc. Her love of surface and texture made this work interesting. Grace excelled in collaborating with clients and designers and basked in the satisfaction of visually transforming a space. Sharpe said “I always loved to work large and now I would get to work on a whole room!!!” In addition to faux finishing and murals, Sharpe also sold her own fine art and was commissioned for many works on canvas for both residential and commercial clients which kept her anchored in creating Fine Art.
Her love of adventure and tree climbing came in handy as over the years she spent thousands of hours climbing ladders and scaffolding. Whether it was a four foot ladder or forty foot scaffolding she was never afraid of heights and surprised many clients with her fearlessness. One of her biggest murals was at Monmouth Park Race Track where she was commissioned to paint their logo, a silhouette of a 30 foot horse that greets all visitors to the GrandStand. As she has transitioned away from that work and reflects back she recalls one of her favorite commissions was an 18’ x 12’ rendition of Leanardo DiVici’s Last Supper which she painted on canvas and had it installed in a private dining room.
The time has come for Sharpe to focus solely on who she is as a fine artist. Taking her inspiration from the natural world. She states “I have always been drawn to the expression of trees, their figurative bending and reaching toward each other and the sun and the way light creates wonderful silhouettes of shape. The juxtaposition of the stillness of nature and its energy pulls me in. I am drawn to the relationship of shape and form. I see a story wanting to be told in their expression of these relationships and the spaces between.” Grace's use of color is integral to her style. Whether applying neutral, vibrant or earth tones her ability to transform a canvas and bring to light her vision through form and color is unique and sets her apart from others. When asked what’s your favorite color she says “I can never answer that question, it's like asking who is your favorite child; you love them all differently.”
I’m excited about my life as an artist. My mission is to work from the heart. It is my hope that through my work I can reach others, to stir their emotions not so much by what I see but what they see in my work. I think of myself as a conduit who attempts to reflect the profound beauty around me in the hope it brings the same joy to others as it does to me. If I can accomplish that then to me the painting is a success and the greatest gift I can receive.
Grace W Sharpe
33 Pershing Place
Keyport, NJ
201-394-6757
Grace W. Sharpe
Phone 201-394-6757
Email graceyourspace@msn.com
Website www.graceyourspace.net
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa
Barnstone Studios in Copley, Pa with an emphasis on Classical drawing
The Finishing School in Long Island New York contemporary techniques in faux finishing
Business
For 30 years Grace owned and operated Grace Your Space. A successful decorative and Faux Finishing business that successfully operated throughout the New York tri-state area. Specializing in residential, commercial and public space wall finishes, murals, color consultation and her own fine art as well as commissioned paintings. Through her business she was able to combine her fine art skills, love of manipulating color and collaboration with her clients.
Solo and Group Exhibits:
Artspace 88, Keyport, NJ
Art in Movement, Jersey City, NJ
Prince Street Gallery, NY/NY
City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
Lena DiGangi Gallery, West Patterson, NJ
Unitarian Gallery, SI, NY
St.Elizabeth’s Gallery, SI NY
Art Lab, SI, NY
South Shore Visual Arts, SI, NY
Art Network, SI, NY
Town Center Gallery, Bethlehem, Pa
Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Monmouth Art Alliance, Red Bank, NJ
Professional Affiliations and Private Collections (Selected)
Coast City Studios, Spring Lake, NJ
Max Weinberg, Middletown, NJ, Bruce Springsteins & East St Band Drummer
Governor Phil Murphy, Rumson, NJ
David Daley, Keyport, NJ, Pres & CEO of PSEG
Designs by Elizabeth, Brandon, Fla
Vanderbilt Fine Art, SI, NY
Landmark Design, Millburn, NJ
Designs for Interiors, Springfield, NJ
Bennett NY/NY & Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sterzel, Hilton Head, SC
Denardo, Red Bank, NJ
Lovell, Shrewsbury, NJ
Ganz, Freehold, NJ
Barbado, Howell, NJ
Carioti, Matawan, NJ
Sorkvist, Lambertville & Mantoloking, NJ
Vitacco, SI, NY & Toms River, NJ
Winrow, Portland Me & Wilton, Ct
