Art instructor inspires students to share work
Love of teacher brings eclectic group together for exhibit
So, what do an aquaculture biologist, a pathologist, a retired public servant, a delivery driver and a diplomat have in common? A love of painting and an instructor at the Ottawa School of Art, both of which have brought them together for an exhibition of their work.
The group studies with Blair Sharpe, an instructor at OSA since 1974. The students enjoy the unstructured nature of Sharpe’s classes, the camaraderie of discovery and the shared trials and tribulations of learning their craft. Sharpe is a talented abstract artist in his own right, with works in public and private collections in Canada and abroad. Some of his students are picking up a brush for the first time, while others are fine arts graduates or inveterate experimenters.
Sharpe says he enjoys “encouraging brave first steps” and then supporting his students as they continue to take the steps that lead them in many different directions. His students choose what they paint, and Sharpe spends time with each student as they work.
He encourages, provokes, cajoles, delivers terrible puns and sometimes leaves students to struggle just long enough so the lesson sinks in. One student recalls Sharpe observing her trying every possible colour for a tree’s shadow, waiting before suggesting she try purple, which was just the thing.
Many of his students are “repeaters,” taking the same class over several years in some cases. They range in age from 16 to 90, and all share a keenness and a desire to express themselves through their painting. For some, immersing themselves in a painting for several hours after a long day at work is a welcome diversion. Barb Saville (rumoured to complete more than one painting per class), sums it up well when she says she “loses herself in the action of painting, trying to capture what she has seen, the way the wind moves a cloud.”
The exhibition at the Atomic Rooster on Bank Street, which runs to Dec. 14, was conceived by student Shawn Flynn. Flynn was keen to pay tribute to Sharpe’s work as an instructor and thought it would be fun to show the diverse range of works to come from the classes. The Rooster’s rotating exhibitions of local artists’ work offered the ideal venue.
The artists, known as the B Sharpes (or The Group of Nine) include Flynn, Saville, Susan Robertson, Marie Terrien, Kelly Whitty, Paul Buré, Ken Janzen, Saaqib Ahmad and Susan Cartwright.