Hope Sharp
Hope Sharp is a figurative artist who paints in oil. She began her journey into live event painting after spending a year painting dancers live in the studio. It was when she was invited by a friend to paint during her daughter’s wedding that she fell in love with this work and created Luxury Wedding Painter.
With a BFA from the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, an MFA in painting from Johnson State College in Vermont — and over twenty years studying under renowned painter, Billy Brauer, Hope is classically trained, and her art reflects both her technical virtuosity and her contemporary sensibilities.
Hope Sharp’s work is held in numerous private collections nationally (in California, Vermont, Texas and Florida) and internationally (in the Bahamas and Switzerland) — and she has exhibited her work in New York City. While a student at Pratt, Hope worked in the wedding industry as a photographer and floral designer. More recently, she has taught drawing and painting at Northern Vermont University. She is based in Montpelier, Vermont, and travels extensively for her work.
Joseph Loccisano
Joseph Loccisano is a contemporary visual artist with an extensive exhibition record and his artwork is held in numerous public and private collections in the U.S.
Loccisano is known for his exquisite draftsmanship and for subjects that reveal his love of portraiture, nature, history, science, and literature. He loves drawing ‘live’ on-location at weddings because “when drawing someone, I get to experience their uniqueness — and spend a profound moment in time honoring their individuality.”
He has taught at Ringling College of Art and Design, Nova Southeastern University, New College of Florida, The Printmaking Workshop (NYC), and State College of Florida where he served as gallery director from 1987 to 2017. Loccisano holds a BA, MA, and a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. He is a peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums, a lecturer, art consultant, and independent curator. He lives and works in Montpelier, Vermont and Sarasota, Florida.