Biography
Cheryl has Western jeans in her genes. The factor must be dominant because she is an accomplished cowgirl having won various collegiate in goat tying and pro rodeo titles barrel racing and team roping. Cheryl was reared a “city kid” in Missouri, but had the delight of visiting her mom’s two Colorado cattle ranches every summer. The days were spent riding horses all over Cripple Creek and Victor, working cows, brook trout fishing, trapping chipmunks, and exploring old gold mines. It was exquisite.
Her father was an architectural engineer. His artistic gene must have been dominant too. He used to sit Cheryl down in his study with pencils, paper, erasers, French curves, scales, and erasing shields. She was entertained for hours. She still has an affinity for pencils and what they can do. Precision and a draftsmanship quality are prevalent in her drawings.
These two hereditary traits are well-partnered in Cheryl’s art with the beloved pencil being her forte. She loves the Western attitude and revels in competition, believing in the intense work inherent to both.
While still in high school, Cheryl studied drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute. She has a BFA in drawing and painting from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado. Her father said she majored in art and minored in horses. He might have had it backwards. Cheryl later studied drawing and painting at Western States College, Gunnison, Colorado, and earned her art teaching license from Colorado State University
“I don’t know which I loved more as a child, my art supplies, or my stick horses. I blame television’s Roy Rogers and Trigger for the horse obsession. Over time, I gradually began drawing realistic horses and got more and more infatuated with the pencils. While I still love the challenge of manipulating graphite between whispers of gray and the blackest of blacks, I have a fascination with new media and drawing surfaces.
The feel of a horse, as we work together as a team, helps me achieve the sensuality of mass, muscle, and motion I want to transfer to my art in order to give it a visceral quality. When I train a horse, it literally feels like I’m sculpting their body. When I draw, it is the other way around. I work from the inside out, placing the skin over what I know to be muscle and joint. Thinking in 3-D helps my 2-D representation: like Michelangelo, I draw on the physicality of the experience. My work elevates the common but unique personalities that are emblematic of the West. Striving always for gritty realism, I capture the cowboy life, soul, and spirit of the people and animals I deeply admire as they live and work, displaying their zest and gusto for life.”
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Bosque Classic: John Steven Jones Purchase Award
AAEA: American Academy of Equine Art
Jean Bowman Memorial Award, Fall Open Juried Show Postcard, Categorical Award for Interaction
WAOW: Women Artists of the West, Signature Member, Superior Drawing, Publishers Award of Excellence, first and second places, Honorable Mention
SWA: South West Artists Award of Merit
Snake River Stampede Art Show 1st, Western Heritage
WARA: Western Art Rodeo Assn., Premier Member, Year End Champion, Dry Media
WRVAG: Wind River Valley Art Guild, Best of Show, Best Wildlife, 1st Mixed Media, 1st Graphics, 2nd Graphics
Meeker Classic Dog Trials International Art show, 2nd Overall, Best of Southwest Colorado, multiple years, People’s Choice, multiple years
