Blair Sharpe Obituary

Blair Sharpe, an Ottawa-based abstract painter, art teacher, and artists' rights activist, died yesterday (July 15, 2019) from cancer. Details on his life are below in the  following obit:


https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1731601&fbclid=IwAR3f8Rb8v2Od2DF68bQc25RG0XLUV-3oh_0-dk-VjPwN49m-abl_HgNkh3Y

I want to add though that I have known Blair since I was in grade 7, and he was my life drawing teacher at the Ottawa School of Art. He encouraged me, at that young an age, to start to find my own way. Some of the advice he gave me - stressing I focus on a naturally heavy, expressive delineation - remain with me today when I draw and paint. His dedication to teaching continued the rest of his life. His ego never got in the way of teaching students of all ages despite his success as an abstract painter. His passing is a profound loss to art and art pedagogy.