Into the forest I go - to lose my mind - and find my soul
New Release!
RICK SHARP'S NATURE POSTERS
1970s NATURE POSTERS: The Forgotten 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: 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.
Christmas 2023 Release
CHRISTMAS with Saint Claws
and His Animal Friends
A beautiful and uplifting story that captures the true essence of the holiday season. It teaches children valuable lessons about kindness, friendship, and the joy of giving. Parents, teachers, and children alike will appreciate the enchanting narrative and the book's positive and inclusive messages.
IN THE PRESS
The aftermath of the ‘60s gave birth to a natural revolution during the ‘70s in Southern California. And no other artist represented this movement better than Rick Sharp. Operating out of Santa Barbara, a burgeoning ecological town, Sharp created pen and ink posters touting natural living for its inhabitants. The mountains creeks, pastoral foothills and pristine beaches became the young artist’s field of study.
This richly illustrated memoir is a fitting tribute to the “Little City by The Sea”, the American Riviera, as it has been called – an enclave of white-washed Spanish-style buildings with red-tiled roofs - surrounded by the Santa Ynez mountains. The 162-page, soft-cover book contains a collection of posters that have been forgotten in time – when Santa Barbara was a small town and Montecito was a sleepy little village – lost in yesteryear, by an Artist who captured a counterculture and their beautiful domain.
Jackie Morris,
Song Sparrow Publications
