Edith Sharp

"My goal is to express the essence of the experience, to join spirit and image, not to reproduce realism."
-Edith Sharp

Edith Sharp grew up in a house where the painter Walter Baum had once lived. The paintings that Baum had left on the walls of the house were early influences to the young Sharp. Her father, despite taking her on frequent visits to museums, discouraged Sharp from pursuing a career in painting. The arts kept calling to Sharp, however, and after leaving an unsatisfying retail job, she began and ran a freelance graphic design service called Shoe String Graphics for ten years. She pursued an education in art, including studying watercolor monotypes with Annelies Van Dommelen in 1996 and 1997. A technique developed by Sharp involves wetting the canvas and approaching the work with acrylic paint as though she was using watercolor.

Sharp has a studio in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. Earlier in her career, she studied painting at Bucks County Community College and Trenton State College. She also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Education and Training
Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1971
Trenton State College, New Jersey, 1980
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1998

Teachers and Influences
Anthony M. Autorino, Walter Baum, Fay Badura, Alexander Calden, Vincent Ceglia, Robert Dodge, Helen Frankenthaler, Alan Goldstein, Bruce Katsiff, William Lathrop, Peggy Lewis, Morris Louis, Pat Martin, Paul Matthews, Henry Moore, Georgia O’Keeffe, Elizabeth Osborne, Charles F. Ramesy, Tony Rosati, Mark Rothko, Ben Shahn, Barry Snyder, Annelies Van Dommelen, and the Canadian Seven

Connection to Bucks County
Sharp was born and raised in Bucks County and grew up in Walter Baum’s house in Sellersville. She has lived in Bucks County for most of her adult life.

Artistic Community and Colleagues
Ruth Bloom, Gail Bracegirdle, James Feehan, Don Jordon, Kim Kurki, Lisa Mahan, Mare McClellan, Pam Miller, Taylor Oughton, Sue Roseman, Dorothy Rosenwald, Chris Snyder, Jeanne Walton

Affiliations and Memberships
Artsbridge, Lambertville, New Jersey
Delaware River Mill Society, Stockton, New Jersey
Beaver Pond Poetry Forum, St. Philips Chapel, New Hope, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Major Solo Exhibitions
Newtown Racquet Club, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1979
ABC Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1999

Major Group Exhibitions
Philadelphia Sketch Club Watercolor Show, 1997
Phillips’ Mill 68th Annual Show, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1997
Summer Works Show, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1997
Phillips’ Mill 69th Annual Show, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1998
Artsbridge National Prallsville Mill Show, Stockton, New Jersey, 1998
Philadelphia Sketch Club Watercolor Show, 1998
Today’s Quaker Art in Bucks County, Legacy Gallery, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Phillips’ Mill 70th Annual Show, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1999
Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 1999
Philadelphia Sketch Club Small Painting Show, 1999
River Show, Canal Frames Gallery, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, 2000
Artsbridge National Prallsville Mill Show, Stockton, New Jersey, 2000
Ellarslie Open XVIII, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2000
Artsbridge National Prallsville Mill Show, Stockton, New Jersey, 2001
Local Scenes, Coryell Gallery, 2001
ABC Gallery Reunion Show, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2003
Montgomery Center for the Arts, Princeton, New Jersey, 2003

Other Professional Activities
Fundraising Campaign, Artsbridge and Fisherman’s Mark combined Children’s Art Camp Program, 2002
Fundraising Campaign, Artsbridge National Art Show, 1999-2002
Central NJ Arts Day, sponsored by Congressman Rush Holt, Washington, D.C., September 2005
NJ Funding for the Arts, sponsored by Congressman Rush Holt, Washington, D.C., 2002
Featured artist, Women’s Fund Studio Tour, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 2003
Recorded artist in the video The World of Art, Music & Dance, produced by Cassidy Video, productions available at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
D.E.P. Commissioner Bradley Campbell and U.S. Senator J. Corzine received Sharp's paintings as awards from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 2003

Appointments
Executive Director, Delaware River Mill Society, November 2002-present
Instructor, NJ State Teen Art Festival Print Workshops, Spring 2007
Gallery Critic, NJ State Teen Art Festival, the College of New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, Spring 2006
Review Committee and Gallery Critic, NJ Teen Arts Festival, Raritan County Community College, Somerset County, New Jersey, Spring 2007
Grant Review Panels, NJ Cultural & Heritage Commission, Somerset County, New Jersey, 2005, 2006
Print Workshops Instructor, NJ Teen Art Festival, Hunterdon County Fair Grounds, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Spring 2007
State Selection Committee, NJ Teen Art Festival, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Spring 2006
Print Workshops Instructor, NJ Teen Art Festival, Raritan County Community College, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Spring 2006
Trustee, NJ Teen Arts Council, December 2006
Development Committee, NJ Scenic Byway Management Plan, 2005-2006
Grant Review Panel, NJ Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, 2004, 2006
Art Show Organizer, Bucks County Peace Fair, 2001-2004
Buckingham Friends Meeting, Lahaska, PA
President, Artsbridge, 2000-2002
Founder and Manger, Artsbridge Children’s Gallery, 2002-2003
Artsbridge Representative for the Devour Farm Development Project, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 2000-2002
Founding Co-Chair, Artsbridge Gallery, Prallsville Linseed Mill, Stockton, New Jersey, 1999-2002
Co-Chair Exhibition Committee, Artsbridge, 1998-2000

Awards
Honorable Mention, Philadelphia Sketch Club Watercolor Show, 1997
Honorable Mention, Philadelphia Sketch Club Watercolor Show, 1998
The Ryland Inn Honorable Mention Award, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 1999
Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission Grant, Art Camp at the Mill, 2003