Gretchen Sharples is a mixed-media and oil painter based in Anderson, Missouri. She studied at the Milan Art Institute, where she honed her unique approach to layered, symbolic artwork. She began sharing and selling her work through local cafés and coffee shops before expanding to social media and private collectors.

Gretchen’s work blends vintage materials—such as antique papers and hand-crocheted trims—with ethereal, feminine compositions that evoke beauty, memory, and spiritual resonance. Her process is rooted in her everyday life and inner world. After laying down expressive mixed-media foundations, she builds her subjects in acrylic and finishes them with oil for luminous depth. “I want my work to stir something sacred,” she says, “and remind us that beauty has the power to heal.”

She paints daily in her cozy cottage studio just steps from her home, surrounded by an emerging flower garden and often joined by her young grandchildren who love to create by her side. Gretchen is currently developing multiple collections, planning to participate in fine art shows locally and nationwide, and expanding her reach through commissions, gallery submissions, licensing, and a future YouTube channel