Corning Museum of Glass<\/a>.<\/p>\nIt means not taking \u201cno\u201d for an answer too quickly, and being confident in one\u2019s artwork and talking with customers to make them feel comfortable asking questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s as much sales skill needed as art skills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sharman became a full-time paint-based artist in December 2024 after retiring from the Corning Museum of Glass. Turning 60, Sharman said she is not a \u201csitter,\u201d and now she sometimes spends an entire day painting in her Auburn, New York studio.<\/p>\n
![\"JoAnne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/KNVJDBTTJZEJNNONHW57ACASNI.png\")
Artist JoAnne Sharman shows one of her pouring acrylic paintings in her house in Auburn, New York, on Monday, August 4, 2025. Sharman became a full-time artist in December 2024 after retirement. (Photo by Zora Ma) (Zora Ma\/Zora Ma) <\/p>\n
Sharman has over 35 years of experience in high-end commission sales, including jewelry, furniture, interior design and the glass museum.<\/p>\n
As a store manager at the museum, Sharman said she gained a solid understanding of glass art by watching demonstrations and taking classes in glassblowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any form, it\u2019s fluid,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to turn it and spin it and manipulate it because it\u2019s like working with honey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fluid nature of glass inspired Sharman to start pouring acrylic paintings and build a studio to express her passion for fluid art. <\/p>\n
Sharman pours colors onto a flat canvas, allows them to move around, and then manipulates the colors in layers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the spontaneity of it,\u201d she said. \u201cLet the paint dictate what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Terri Wise, a close friend of the artist, said retiring helped Sharman to flourish in her work.<\/p>\n
Wise said she remembered in the \u201890s, Sharman would go to flea markets to find old furniture, paint it, and give it new life. Sharman talked with Wise about many ideas for her artwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe universe heard her calling, so it gave it back to her so she could be an artist,\u201d Wise said.<\/p>\n
Sharman is a creative person in the arts and in business, Wise said. She said when she worked for Sharman during the Christmas season at Littman Jewelers, Sharman once set up a wedding venue in the store to attract customers to buy wedding jewelry and engagement rings.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would always create fun atmospheres to bring in the people,\u201d Wise said.<\/p>\n
Sharman said she planned to use a bubble machine at the art shows in Florida last winter to match her bubble-themed paintings, but the paintings didn\u2019t sell well because they were too small. So, she went back home and rearranged the work for the rest of the shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd man, we got back, and we hit the West Coast and just did very well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Steve Donigan, Sharman\u2019s boyfriend, said he helped with the logistics when they traveled to Florida for Sharman\u2019s art shows. \u201cI\u2019m her laborer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sharman said people really connect when they watch her paint on-site.<\/p>\n
People asked questions while she painted, and she involved them in a whole conversation about when to deliver and where to place the painting in their homes by utilizing her interior design expertise, according to Donigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she builds relationships with people that way,\u201d he said. \u201cThe shows are what sells them.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Sharman sells her artwork, she often applies the sales strategies she used to teach people.<\/p>\n
Sharman decided to implement a new return policy to overcome objections. If someone hesitated, she would say, \u201cNope, take it home. I\u2019ll even bring it to you. See how it looks in the room. And if you don\u2019t like it, bring it back to me tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think that I have to go back to being a student also, you know, and the teacher listening to my own lessons,\u201d Sharman said.<\/p>\n
There is a profound gap between people attending the art shows and those buying the art, said Sharman. She thinks artists don\u2019t make enough money, so many can\u2019t stay long in the industry, and she hopes other artists can learn the sales side of art and develop basic sales skills.<\/p>\n
While she could convince people to buy her art, she could not convince them to love it, Sharman said. When her work sells, Sharman feels a sense of validation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you know your work has a home that someone has bought and will enjoy themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
More information about JoAnne Sharman\u2019s studio and her artwork can be found at the website of her label, Lady Loo Art at ladylooart.com\/about<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artist JoAnne Sharman’s outdoor painting table and some of her recent works in front of her studio. (Zora…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1029,228,226,227,229,88,130103,130104],"class_list":{"0":"post-234245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-jo-anne-sharman","15":"tag-topstory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"JoAnne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RKH566QPFVHTPPYFF4CRG4GWZI.png\")
Artist JoAnne Sharman’s outdoor painting table and some of her recent works in front of her studio. (Zora Ma\/Zora Ma) <\/p>\n