b.1941, Brisbane

Penny Sharpe completed junior high school at Clayfield College before enrolling in the commercial art course at Brisbane’s Central Technical College, where she studied with Melville Haysom. When Sharpe completed the course, she worked as a commercial artist on a freelance basis, so was able to continue with Haysom’s Saturday morning art classes, where she developed a sure sense of draftsmanship. She exhibited in various prize exhibitions in Brisbane over many years: Caltex Centenary Prize (1959), Warana–Caltex Prize (1970–72), Redcliffe Art Contest (1961–64 and 1971–72) and the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association (1962–63, 1970 and 1972). Sharpe was also a member of the Glenmorgan Art Group (founded in 1970), one of the first groups to take advantage of pottery courses offered through Mervyn Moriarty’s Australian Flying Arts School.