Ian Roberts Sharpe is an artist in the city of Canberra. Since moving from Melbourne in 1974 he has worked in many varied areas of Canberra’s arts community. He has designed and illustrated books, magazines and theatre posters. He has worked in theatre set design and painting and also mounted many successful exhibitions as a painter.
However he is best known for his cartoons and illustrations which featured prominently in The Canberra Times newspaper for 24 years from 1988 to 2012.
Now of a certain age, Ian has turned his talents to the gentle art of acrylic, landscape painting. He is an enthusiastic and award winning member of both the Queanbeyan Art Society and the Artists Society of Canberra
Born: 1949 in Cambridge, England, UK
Immigrated to Australia: January 1950
Nationality: Australian
Education: Montrose Primary School, Lilydale High School and RMIT School of Art, Victoria, Australia
Memberships: The Artists Society of Canberra (Contemporary Art group), the Queanbeyan Artists Society and the Canberra Caravan Club (President 2016 to 2019).
Married: to Gayle Berthold and proud father of James Sharpe; special FX artist/developer for Microsoft/Coalition in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Professional History:
2012– Freelance cartoonist and illustrator
2005: Toured China drawing caricatures in Carrefore Shopping Centres
2003: Toured China drawing caricatures in Carrefore Shopping Centres
1988-2012 Illustrator/cartoonist with the Canberra Times.
1984-88 Graphic Designer with the CSIRO HQ Public Affairs Media Unit.
And a casual contributor of cartoons for The Canberra Times.
1981-84 Operated his own business; Ian Sharpe Illustration and Design. Client base APS.
1978-81 Graphic designer and Illustrator with the CSIRO Division of Entomology. Designing graphs and diagrams, report covers and displays.
1977 Graphic artist with the ANU Graphic Design Unit under Adrian Young. Illustrating and designing book covers and events posters and press ads.
1971-2004 Freelance illustrator specialising in theatre and events posters.
1970-71 Freelance cartoonist for the Sunday Review (later The Nation Review) and other Melbourne publications
1968-71 School of Art, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Theatre Stage Design:
1999 Whose Life is it Anyway. Canberra Repertory.
1992 After the Lions. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Corille Fraser.
1991 The Lion in Winter. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Joyce MacFarlane
1990 The Fantastics. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Tessa Bremner.
1990 Streetcar Named Desire, ANU Arts Centre. Directed by Geoffrey Borny.
1990 Camelot. ANU Arts Centre. Directed by Pierre Bokor.
1989 Kiss of the Spider Woman. ANU Arts Centre. Directed by Pierre Bokor.
1989 Man of La Mancha. Directed by Pierre Bokor.
1985 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat. ANU Arts Centre Directed by Paul Corcoran.
Exhibitions:
2012 Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons. Museum of Democracy
2011 Within Cooee. Solo exhibition of abstract acrylic paintings with gum trees as it’s theme. at the Yarralumla Gallery/Oaks Brasserie, Canberra.
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons. Museum of Democracy
2010 Panicale. Solo exhibition of paintings inspired by travels to Italy. at the Yarralumla Gallery/Oaks Brasserie, Canberra.
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
2008 The travelling Picture Show. Solo exhibition of paintings inspired by travels to Morocco, spain and portugal. at the Yarralumla Gallery/Oaks Brasserie, Canberra.
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australia cartoons.
2007 The Essence of Being. Solo exhibition of paintings abstract acrylic paintings at the Mawson Gallery, Canberra.
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
2006 Walls and Warriors. Solo exhibition of paintings inspired by a visit to The Great Wall in Beijing and the City of Xian in China. The High Court of Australia, Canberra.
The Olive Grove. Solo exhibition of watercolour paintings done on a trip to Italy.
Urambi Village Community Centre, Canberra
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
2005 Ragusa Resurrected. Solo exhibition of paintings inspired by a visit to Dubrovnik.
The Embassy of the Republic of Croatia.
Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
2004 Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australiancartoons.
2003 Behind The Lines. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
Pressing The Point: A joint exhibition with Pat Campbell and David Pope of cartoons
A Villa in Tuscany: An exhibition of watercolours from a stay in Italy.
Urambi Village Community Centre, ACT
2002 Cartoons. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian cartoons.
A Room with Many Views: An exhibition of watercolours from a tour through Europe
Urambi Village Community Centre, ACT
2001 Collected Works. Urambi Village Community Centre, ACT
2000 Bringing The House Down. Australian National Museum exhibition of Australian
1997 cartoons at Old Parliament House.
1992 Sharpe Cartoons. Independent solo exhibition. Urambi Village Community Centre, ACT
1991 Colour And Line. Independent solo exhibition. Urambi Village Community Centre, ACT
Travels:
2017 Vancouver BC Canada
2016 Firenze, Italy. Vancouver BC Canada (2)
2015 Bali and Shanghai
2013 USA Coast to Coast
2012 UK, France, Italy, Greece and Dubai
2011 Thailand.
2010 New York.
2009 Italy.
2008 Vietnam and China.
2007 France, Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
2006 Istanbul and Italy.
2005 China, Italy.
2004 China, Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia.
2003 China.
2002 Singapore, Italy.
2001 Italy, France, England, Austria.
2000 New Zealand, Nepal.
1997 Italy, France, Austria.
1991 Italy, UK, Thailand.
1982 Germany, Czechoslovakia, UK, Hong Kong.