Q: As an artist, what are some of your favorite things about living and working in Manhattan.

A:  My parents moved us 11 times as I was growing up so it's hard to say where I'm from but I suppose I identify myself more with New York. One of my favorite things about living and working here is the diversity of people and the ready access to culture, such as museums, galleries and theater.

How and when did you first become interested in art and illustration?

I lived and went to a elementary school on 121street. The school had a strong emphasis on the arts, which was a blessing because then the neighborhood wasn't and we were not allowed to play on the street. Being a family of six in a small two bedroom apartment, drawing and painting became my great escape! I finally decided to become an illustrator in my freshmen year at college.

What was you first commercial assignment? 

I got my first assignment in the summer of 1987, a month or two after I graduated from Parson School of Design. It was a cover for a consumer electronic trade magazine. I got enough money to quit my waiting job at The Riviera cafe and 'hit the pavement running,' going from magazine to magazine. 

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

I love coming up with concepts and the immediacy of the sketch phase. This is why I'm now loving working in watercolor because you just have to put it down on the page and work with it. 

Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between art you create on paper versus in the computer?

I love sketchbooks. I always have two or three going on at the same time. I use them as a visual diaries and often pull ideas from them.  My all-time favorite thing to do is to travel with them to record the people and places I see.  My sketch books often age well (just like a time capsule) especially when I haven't looked at one for a while. I've been working in sketchbooks since 1983 so I now have walls covered with bookshelves. They are becoming a ball and chain especially when I have to move apartments! 

I mostly use the computer to clean up or fix a mistake on my paintings and of course to scan and send. Long gone are those days of wondering how to paint over a color and wait for that messenger to arrive to deliver the art work!  I also travel a lot and using a small scanner and laptop computer. allows me to continue working pending a decent wifi signal! (sketchbook pages, below).

What is the most indispensable item in your studio.

I guess I would have say my watercolor set, which I purchased for a trip to Venezuela in 1989. I still use it everyday for assignments and my sketchbooks.

What are you listening to? 

I listen to all types of music but the musicians that are reverberating around my head these past few weeks are John Ruth, Laurie Anderson and Yoko Ono.

What are you reading?

I just came back from the UK so I was reading a Nancy Mitford book,Wigs on the Green.  I'm now back in New York and am currently reading Butterfield 8 by John o' Hara. 

Who and what are some of your strongest influences.

My friend and former teacher at Parson, Katerina Denzinger is a big influence for me.  She ran an incredible collage class that taught us how to construct compositions. I often look at other artists when I need a little inspiration: August Macke, Karel Appel, Horst Janssen and Fortunato Depero are just some of the notable artists I find inspirational. 

Did your participation in the AI32 LIVE Cover Project have any spillover into your studio practice?  Do you recommend marathon art projects for inspiration and redirection?

It was so much fun to work next to all that talent and it was great to see how the others work. I also enjoyed having to work quickly on 10 repetitive images. It got me excited about animating again. I'm presently working on an animation for the Chinese Fashion company, AK Club. I highly recommend such marathon art projects and I hope American Illustration will ask me to another one soon!

What was the last art exhibition you saw and what did you take away from it?

I went to the National Portrait Museum in London and was moved by an exhibition I saw of a young, self-taught artist named Johnathan Yeo.

What advice would you give a young artist on selecting an art school or college.

Go to a good art school and take marketing and business classes.

Chris Sharp is a NYC based illustrator who graduated from Parson School of Design. Chris has worked both in New York, USA and Oslo, Norway. Chris has worked with:  The Norwegian Olympic Committee, Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno, American Express, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg, Coca Cola, The New York Times, Time, United Nations, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Money, The Washington Post and many more. His work has been selected for publication in American Illustration numerous times.