The title of Artist has not come easy for me. As a child growing up I was surrounded by the artwork of some of the nations top wildlife artists, since my father was an avid collector. The work of these artists, who became my idols, inspired me to get closer; to look beyond the surface of the picture and into the underlying applications.
Most children have some innate ability to draw. It’s just that some of us choose not to let that part of ourselves grow up. One of my earliest paintings came when I was 14 and asked my dad where he kept the house paint. I took the different colors of house paint, along with my tester brush and painted a horse that covered my entire wall. Although I never asked for permission to paint on my wall, dad later told me that if he ever moved he would have to take the wall with him. Today that painting is framed in wood molding so that my parents could paint the rest of the room a different color.
A change point in my career occurred shortly after high school. I won a scholarship to a local college for graphic arts with my pencil drawings and paintings. An instructor told me one day that I should give up on drawing and painting and convert over to computer drawing because I would never get anywhere with my artwork. I left school and never went back. For a period of time I questioned my abilities and wondered if I would ever be good enough. Then I married my biggest supporter. Five days after we were married he had me scheduled for a Ducks Unlimited banquet where my work was on display. In the beginning I gravitated towards the wildlife side of art competing in a multitude of competitions. I still wasn’t at the point of truly enjoying my chosen field.
I had completed a couple of horse pieces and displayed them at the Iowa Horse Fair in my home town. People responded and I was hooked. Today I attend nearly every major horse expo in the country. I was recently named official artist for the Nevada Joe collection, the wild horse project with the Bureau of Land Management, WAHL clipper, and Horse Illustrated. I will also be featured in GaWaNi Pony Boy’s next book Of Women and Horses II. It was occurrences such as these that truly helped me find my place as an artist.
Today my artwork business is a family run operation. All four of our children assist in one aspect or another of the business, whether it is framing or cutting steel. Today I still get that rush even though it is combined with teaching a drawing class and family joys. Being an artist is not what I had imagined it would be as a kid, it is a lot of hard work. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
For more information visit www.ArtbyCheri.com, call 515.289.1378 or email cheri@artbycheri.com
