Anna Sharpe

Lake District artist, alpinist, mountain lover.

‘Being slow to pick up reading and writing, art quickly established itself as my go-to mode of expression; it enables me a freedom of expression and communication that is not encumbered by words. Today, the creation of art helps me to expose deep emotions that live beyond the alphabetic language. 

On moving to The Lake District, aged seven, I discovered another place of freedom, the natural landscape. To have the fells on my doorstep was, and still is, incredulous. 

My love for mountainous landscapes has taken me across the world: climbing peaks in the Alps such as the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc; trekking high passes in the Himalayas; and of course, many more local trips to Scotland and around The Lake District. I find mountains to have an incredible power and ambivalence. Fear and wonderment, beauty and horror.  

I now recognise both climbing and art to be ways of interacting with the ‘more-than-human’ world. In a time when the environment is frequently mistreated as a resource, I look to reawaken our physical and spiritual connections to it.’