Arlene Sharp is a contemporary painter based in London. In 2023, she graduated with a BA (Hons) Painting from the Open College of the Arts and was nominated for the New Blood Emerging Art prize.

I am an abstract landscape painter, inspired by local woodlands and wetlands, as well as the landscapes I encounter during my travels. I aim to capture the space and sense of the landscape and to explore my personal experience within it. My creative process begins with walking, sketching, and photography. I often create sketches and studies on-site, which I later develop in the studio.

I primarily work with acrylics and incorporate other media such as painted collage, pens, inks, crayons, and pastels. As my paintings evolve, they often become more abstract in the process. Shifts in space, form, and colour can take the work in unforeseen directions, but they are always grounded in the truth as I see it.

Selected exhibitions & nominations

2026 Aldenham Art Festival, Aldenham Church, Aldenham
2026 Joint exhibition: ‘River Landscapes: The Wetlands’, London Wetlands Centre, Barnes
2026 Harrow Open Studios Annual exhibition - Reflections on Art, Harrow Arts Centre, Harrow
2026 Jackson’s Painting Prize longlist
2025 Joint Exhibition: ‘River Landscapes: Edges and Echoes, White Cube Gallery, Harrow Arts Centre, Harrow
2025 Harrow Open Studios The Trilogy exhibition
2025 Jackson’s Painting Prize longlist
2024 ‘Curious Space: Transitions in Landscape’, Willesden Gallery, London
2024 Harrow Arts Society Annual show, Harrow, Arts Centre, Harrow
2024 Jackson’s Painting Prize longlist
2023 New Blood Emerging Art Prize nominee
2023 Jackson’s Painting Prize longlist
2022 Solo Exhibition ‘Wild About Nature’, Harrow Weald
2022 Solo Exhibition ‘Painted Space - Remembering Gilberts Lake’, Harrow Arts Centre, Harrow
2022 Freelands Painting Prize nominee

Education
2023 BA (Hons) Painting (1st Class), 2023 Open College of the Arts