Chaucer’s Book Talk with Local Artist Rick Sharp

Chaucer’s Books (3321 State Street)  will host local artist and author Rick Sharp for an in store book talk and signing for the release of his book “1970’s Nature Posters: The Lost Art of Rich Sharp” on Thursday, July 27 at 6 p.m. 

Description

1970’s Nature Posters: The Lost Art of Rick Sharp is the dramatic and often humorous memoir by Santa Barbara poster artist Rick Sharp. With just India ink and pen, the young artist created a treasure trove of idealistic posters lost in time until now. The memoir breathes new life into art that once celebrated Mother Earth and her nature-loving inhabitants. The book covers the years 1970 -1980 and follows the artist from a child prodigy in Texas – to a near death experience in Mexico – to a sought-after pop artist in Southern California. The book offers an intimate look at the artist’s Santa Barbara lifestyle:his unorthodox search for the perfect model and mate, his practice of composing songs and prose to accompany his art, his relations with famous rock stars, and his struggles to be accepted as an incurable, hopeless romantic. Follow this renaissance-man into fields of flowers, mountain creeks and pristine beaches – all depicted in his brilliant pen and ink posters of the era.

About the Artist and Author Rick Sharp

Rick Sharp is a self-taught artist who specialized in poster art executed in a flowing, linear style. In the 1970s, he was commissioned to create concert posters, calendars, movie posters, magazine ads, book covers, logos, postcards, t-shirt designs, and album covers. His posters were popular in Southern California where they appeared throughout the ’70s. Later in his career, Sharp became Hawaii’s premiere vintage poster artist. His images of “classic” Hawaii are still prominent throughout the Islands.