cheryl
My blogs
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Painter |
| Location | Ramsey County, MN |
| Introduction | Cheryl has been interested in creating art since a young child but other interests, a career in law, and raising a family kept her from pursuing her creative talents. Her desire to create was again sparked after purchasing a pastel landscape from a local artist. Since 1988, painting has captured her creative spirit with the vast array of colors and the luminosity of color. Private studies, classes at community art centers, and workshops with nationally known artists have provided the educational underpinnings to bring her artwork to a new level. Since 2003, Cheryl has joined a group of three pastel artists to concentrate on painting outdoors. She has found that working outdoors provides a greater connection between the subject and the artwork that photography cannot replicate. Her work has developed renewed vigor from working outdoors. Her efforts have produced recognition for her pastel paintings with artwork juried in national exhibits, selection into a six-week plein aire (outdoor) painting exhibition, and an award of a two-week residency. Cheryl’s future goals are to teach other artists, to master the medium of oil paint, and to continue to hone her craft. |
| Interests | ARTIST’S STATEMENT My need for a constant challenge and yearning to learn is a natural match to my strong creative desire. The continual and ongoing challenge of creating art is one of my primary motivators. My reverence for natural forms has lead to my main focus, representational works in soft pastel. Through my paintings, I seek to instill upon the viewer a meditative and intuitive sense of peacefulness. While underscoring the slight differences in tonality, my artwork elicits the viewer to share the mood, point in time, and sense of place. Focusing on the subtle difference in colors and values describes the forms to mirror the momentary observations of the changing light. Working directly outside from life, my focus, is very exhilarating despite the unexpected conditions that can arise. I am attracted to the luminosity, vibrancy of color, and tactile feeling of pastel while applying the color directly with the fingers upon the surface. The directness and simplicity of pastel allows me to concentrate on creating works of art that remind the viewer of special places in their lives. Recently, the challenge of working with both the transparency and opaqueness of oil painting has intrigued and inspired me. |