Shelley Schoenherr

From Shelley's Website.....
ANCIENT HISTORY
....I was raised in the charming and nurturing, rural community of Bryan Ohio. Following interests in the arts, my undergraduate degree was in Art and Commercial Design, from Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri. The smartest thing I ever did in college was to choose to KEEP GOING...
....Therefore, I earned a Master of Arts Degree in Fine Art - Drawing and Painting, from University of Missouri. If I tell you when, it will ruin everything, so let's just pretend I am really .... youthful.
My intent was to teach drawing and painting on the college level, and for a very short time I did. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had. Raising children was another...
REAL LIFE

I am married and live in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. We have two grown children, who in turn have wives and husbands, and here I am compelled to make up something that would really grab your attention -- like "I raise Alpacas, climb mountains and pilot a jet", but I don't!

ART LIFE

.....Instead, I try to do my artwork and art business as much a possible. While trained mostly in OILS, I have turned to PASTEL and OIL PASTEL because of the drawing quality of both mediums, as well as the immediacy of "drawing from ones fingers". Oil Pastel and Pastel travel very easily, and for me that is important, because I do a good deal of work while traveling. Traveling has influenced and directed my subject matter, and I admit to rendering a wide range of subjects.

INFLUENCES

I often work on dark papers, bringing the images out of the darkness and into the light, as I apply the medium. The effects of light at sunrise and sunset influence much of my work, while theatrically posed stage lighting is also an interest. Many pieces are outgrowths of those influences. In that direction, an emotive allegorical still life series on black paper is on-going and active, as is a new series exploring emotions and stories expressed in faces of animals seen in dramatic back light.

Most of my work is representational, based in a desire to utilize strong design elements while employing active color relationships. Accurate draftsmanship is important to me and is the basis of most of my work, though I long to be loose and abstract. Go figure!

I am influenced by my conservative life style which may explain a direction toward realism, by seeing vivid color in all things, by the inspiration of land and sea, and by the interaction of subjects in dramatic lighting.

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
Though my direction in art is very serious, I often express humor in my work -- Though a picture IS worth a thousand words, titles are often the capstone for a viewer, and therefore are part of the fun of my work ... the hunt for thought provoking titles.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY CALL IT ART WORK ... AS FAR AS I AM
CONCERNED, IT SHOULD BE CALLED ART PLAY!
Having said that, I take an extremely serious approach to being a studio artist. Creating these pieces in the thoughtful solitude that I require excites, electrifies and rejuvenates me ... If I stopped there, that would be fine.
But, sharing my art and having a viewer connect with what I do, totally completes the process.

All works in oil Pastel

Recent Awards:

BEST OF SHOW Lawrence Street Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibit, August 2007
for the work entitled "Rosie's Gaze"

BEST OF SHOW 2007 Oil Pastel Society of America Member Exhibit,
for the work entitled "You Were Here"

BEST OF SHOW 2006 Annual Members Exhibition -- Grosse Pointe Artists Association, for the work entitled "Keys Eye Chart"

HONORABLE MENTION 20th Anniversary Lac Ste. Claire Fine Art Fair - 2007

1st PLACE VIEWERS CHOICE AWARD, 2006 Oil Pastel Society Of America Member Exhibition for the work entitled "Rosie's Gaze", online at Oil Pastel Society 2006 Exhibit

HONORABLE MENTION 2006 Oil Pastel Society Member Exhibition

3rd PLACE PROFESSIONAL DRAWING 2006 Michigan State Fair Fine Art Competition

HONORABLE MENTION 2006 Lac Ste. Claire Fine Art Fair - for body of work, in category of 2-D work.

"You Were Here"

Shelley G Schoenherr

"Dramatic stage lighting in each of my recent pieces in oil pastel creates the mood of the artwork. The mood in enhanced by asking spot lighting to shine on the objects in the story, illuminating the scene. Items in the work act as stand-ins for persons and situations in my life, and each artwork in my series tells an allegorical tale. Contrasting colors add to the conflict … Active strokes of the medium enliven the activity on the imagined “stage” and the strange story unfolds, as each playgoer is encouraged to privately interpret what they see.

My medium of choice is OIL PASTEL. The use of charcoal paper or brown paper allows me to build and urge images to spring forth from darkness, and into theatrical light. Often I scumble layer upon layer of different colors to produce color depths, much like an oil painter uses the classical glazing process.

Trained with a Masters Degree in Fine Art in Painting and Drawing (University of Missouri, 1971), I am excited by the use of oil paint, but enjoy most, the pure act of drawing in color … with these vibrant and oily, waxy OIL PASTEL sticks, I have discovered a wonderful marriage between the personality of drawing medium AND the excitement of the oil paint.

By sharing my works with viewers, I hope to raise the appreciation of this wonderful and serious medium ~ Oil Pastel"

Visit Shelley's Website