Rising Stars: Meet John Sharp

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Sharp.

Hi John, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
For as long as I can remember, being an artist is all I have ever known. I’ve never had a plan B. When I was about 12, my mom signed me up for weekend art classes at the Flint Institute of Art in Michigan and that was an epiphany moment for me- my first taste at what a studio life would be like.

My high school art teacher was the one who really pushed me toward realism and growing attention to the details. But it was in college when I first saw “Orpheum” by Robert Cottingham and the work of other photorealism masters like John Baeder and Richard Estes that really made a spark. The emotional neutrality of their work was refreshing for me since many of my art professors tended to be overly bent on making something unnecessarily conceptual out of nothing at all. All of this captivated me in a way like nothing else had and their work has remained a premier influence ever since.

After about a decade of living in Chicago and upon finishing my graduate studies at Columbia College Chicago, my family and I moved down to Tennessee in 2016. I am finally making my way through the final few photo references from my time in Chicago- and a few other fun spots along the way. I am definitely eager to take on so much of what Nashville has to offer. There are still some great old signs and buildings that remain in their original unrestored condition but it’s all slowly changing. There is a lot out there and I don’t want to miss it.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Getting in on the “art scene” can honestly be a very frustrating pursuit. It can feel like an exclusive club with a very tiny revolving door that never stops long enough for you to actually get inside and check it out.

But over the years I’ve had to maintain the position that before any exhibition, gallery, or commission, I am making my work for me first. When I keep that mentality, I get less frustrated with how much or little exposure my work is getting.

And then when an opportunity does arise and works out, it’s a whole lot easier to enjoy the low tides and the high tides all the same.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My artwork has typically been associated with the Photorealism/Hyperrealism genre. I paint with almost exclusively acrylic media and work from photo references I have taken along the way. I have been consistently captivated by the nostalgia of old neon signs, abandoned spaces, and forgotten objects left to the elements. With the forerunners of the photorealism movement as my prime inspiration, I do suppose there is an urgency to my work that perhaps was not as present with the original artists who started the movement.

In the 1960s, many of the scenes in their paintings were still rather new and fresh but now those same places are being torn down, replaced, or abandoned to the elements altogether. Many of the neon signs from the paintings I’ve done even in just the past 10 years are since gone or have been replaced with, frankly, lackluster modern plastic advertising.

Last year during the first wave of the pandemic was actually one of the most exhilarating and productive seasons for me. I had the great privilege to be a featured artist in Hyperrealism Magazine Issue 11. I was also able to connect with one of my all-time heroes and photorealism founder John Baeder. We had a delightful exchange and he was kind enough to share some of his processes with me which I consider invaluable and will keep with me always.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The best advice I have for the emerging artist is this:

1) Never stop making work that’s just for you.
2) Don’t get caught up in feeling the need to have expansive connections more than meaningful ones.
3) Be relentless in your pursuits.
4) Know your worth and stick with it.
5) Learn to take rejection with patience and humility because there is going to be a lot of it no matter who you are.

Contact Info:

• Email: johnsharpattack@gmail.com
• Website: www.johnsharpart.com
• Instagram: @johnsharpart
• Other: www.eventeny.com/company/johnsharpart