Meet Dom Sharpe: Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dom Sharpe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dom, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Selling my art and taking on commissions means I spend a lot of time at home. I often find myself working longer than what I’m actually getting paid for. It’s so easy to get lost in the work when there is no clocking in or out. I had to start making alarms to remind myself to take breaks and to stop working. It’s really hard to stop working, believe it or not, especially when I’m so close to finishing a project. It often feels like I’m not working enough because I’m home all the time, which makes me feel guilty about relaxing when in reality, I don’t relax nearly as much as I should!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is , well I guess you could say it’s childlike. I grew up on cartoons and I still watch them today! It’s my own safe space. I always loved the strong characters in Kim Possible, Winx Club and Totally Spies, the heart warming stories and bright colors of My Little Pony and the stylish characters from Monster High and Ever After High. I also watch a lot of anime so you can see I draw a lot of inspiration in my art from these styles and stories. I wanted to make art that let’s the childhood thrive while also still catering to adults. Even more so, I wanted to create stories that centered around, and starred POC. Whenever I design a new cast of characters, they are always diverse, be it design for a new comic, or just pretty art I want to draw. That’s what I’m most proud of, my ability to be diverse in my art.

The road to where I am right now was not easy, and I’m only just beginning. I’m the type of person who has a lot of big ideas but not enough of me or time to execute those ideas, but I refuse to just give up on them. I will continue to grow my ideas and businesses, and I’m glad I have a great support system to get me through it all. I learned I had to be steadfast and determined but also flexible. A lot of things didn’t go the way I wanted it to, or that I thought it would go, so I had to learn to be okay with the unexpected.

All I want the world to know about my brand is that being an adult doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the cute, sparkly things we did as children, and I intend to remind everyone of that through my art.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My first stop would Breakers Korean BBQ! I absolutely love the food there, especially the garlic pork belly. We’d hit up Food Terminal, Sweet Hut and then stop at Piccadilly’s because I love the carrot soufflé haha! Since it’s summer we’d hit up Popbar for something cold and sweet. There’s honestly so much good in Atlanta, we could spend the entire week just experiencing food, which is my favorite way to bond with people. We could go to Slutty Vegan, get some food truck eats at Triton Yards, go to the Poke Bar, Jinya Ramen Bar or stop for dessert at Sugar Factory or Cafe Intermezzo in Midtown.

For fun we could go to Round 1 for the arcade, bowling and karaoke all in one stop or spend a day at Sugarloaf Mills Mall. There’s Skyline Park which is a bunch of fun, and then of course the Georgia Aquarium. I love Legos, so we would definitely hit up Legoland. Then we would got to a park for a luxury picnic, because I love to cook and I love to plan parties so it’s fun for everyone! Oh! And the the High Museum of Art is absolutely a must. We would go look at the art exhibits and participate in whatever fun events they have planned. We’d have to visit the Starlight Drive-In Theatre and get burgers and shakes for that retro vibe. There’s Tiny Doors ATL which is so fun and cute. In the winter there’s the Atlanta Chinese Lantern Festival which is absolutely beautiful.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shout out one of my former professor Chris Richardson. If it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have even been a part of this interview at all! I always enjoyed his classes and I actually use a lot of his lessons in my creative process, such as my web comic that I’ve started working on. He’s also commissioned me for art which has directly supported my business. I also want to thank my best friend Bryce also known as RichysHQ on Twitch. He has helped me get so many clients. He is the one who has pushed me to put my art out there and he was my very first client. He believed in me before I ever believed in myself and I definitely wouldn’t even have a name out there if it weren’t for his friendship.

Website: https://www.domsharpe.com/

Instagram: @domopuff

Twitter: @PotatoFysh

Other: My Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/potaytofysh