Petrina Sharp's Page

In the past few years I have been commissioned for a variety of commercial & private art projects. For the last year now, I make my living exclusively as an artist.

I first got interested in art when I was 4. My parents put this chalkboard up in my room and I would create away.

We had moved to Hanau, Germany when I was two and we took an ocean liner to get there....I remember they had an indoor playground with sand and everything...that was so cool!

So, by the time I was four I already had lots of interesting experiences to "draw" on.

There still exists a photo album with my "work" in it -- a chalk portrait of my mother while she was pregnant with my sister.

By eight I was very into horses and was riding and mucking out stalls regularly. I was also drawing and painting them, too.

I did a stint at boarding school. Got into all kinds of interesting conversations with the local authorities.... That was when my mother decided it was time to come back to the states.

It was quite a shock entering 5th grade in a public school in Denver, Colorado, speaking English, which I had only been exposed to at home -- occasionally. Basically, I ended up teaching myself to read and write English.

For the next few years most of my creativity when into helping my mother run the household (while she had returned to college), taking care of my sister, going to school and reading (lots of reading!).

My teenage years were exciting because I was attending cosmetology school, high school and I also had a job at the local skating rink. Plus I belonged to a mime troop and we performed around the state. I did not have much time for visual art until I got into college.

I have a degree in Theater production which I acquired in Edmonton, Canada. Then I spent more time in college as an art major...but had a few disagreements with my art professor and quit.

There after I only dabbled in “arts and crafts,” doing holiday decorating (paid decorating) and set painting for theatre: always something creative but not yet fine art painting.

Then in 2001 I picked up a brush and realized I could paint! It still took me 4-5 years to decide to be were I am at now and get it going. Now I am going to 3x what I have done so far.


Looking forward to another exciting and Artful year!