Artist Teresa Sharp
OAKHURST—Watercolor artist Teresa J. Sharp offers an opportunity to unleash your creativity with a two-hour sketchbook play workshop. The event, sponsored by Yosemite Sierra Artists, takes place on Tuesday, January 23 from 6 pm to 8 pm in the Raley’s Community Room. Everyone is welcome, including beginners and youth 12 and older. The cost is $30 for YSA members, $40 for non-members, and $20 for students. Register at this link. Because of limited seating, Teresa highly recommends pre-registration.
Start with Materials You Already Have
Teresa’s suggestions include:
- Sketchbook (with watercolor paper preferred)
- Pencils
- Eraser
- Waterproof ink pen
- Soft paint brushes
- Watercolor paint
- Palette or white plate
- Water jar
- Paper clamps or painter’s tape
Sketchbooks Keep Teresa’s Creative Juices Flowing
Using sketchbooks to keep her creative juices flowing, Teresa often accepts monthly challenges for daily painting exercises. She says that her passion is “to add to the beauty found in creation, thereby living out our design as co-creators.”
Since 2019 Teresa has participated in the annual Sierra Art Trails weekend each fall. Local galleries, including Sierra Artists Gallery in Mariposa, have featured her work. She belongs to Yosemite Sierra Artists and has participated in a few juried exhibitions. Over the years Teresa has won several awards in our artist community including Best in Show and a few first-place ribbons.
Art Inspired by Beauty Around Her
Teresa’s artistic journey is rooted in the San Joaquin Valley where she grew up in the town of Shafter. There she learned to see the beauty in the rural world surrounding her. Her work blossomed further as she moved from Southern California to the Hill Country of Texas to California’s Bay Area. After reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron at age 50, Teresa challenged herself to explore and develop her artistic talents. She took a big step in that direction with a life-changing solo art retreat in France, and she says it jumpstarted her focus on art.
Move to Japan
The biggest change to Teresa’s art career came with a move to Yokohama, Japan, because of her husband Lenny’s temporary work assignment there. She found the beauty and art culture to be “an artistic sensory overload.” While in Japan she had one solo exhibition and one duet exhibition. In addition, at this time she also began working on portraits and two commissioned pieces.
Koi – inspired by Teresa’s time in Japan
In 2016 Teresa and Lenny returned to the United States and settled in Oakhurst. They operate vacation rentals in addition to Lenny’s photography and Teresa’s art ventures. Together, they created “Live Create Connect” to combine their love of art, photography, and hospitality.
View some of Teresa’s work at teresajsharp.com and on her Teresa J. Sharp Art Facebook Page. You can follow her Instagram account here. Prints of her work can be found here.
