Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Richards.
Sherri, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story began in Toledo, Ohio at the age of five. My grandmother discovered my drawings on the wall behind the sofa. I was not punished but given coloring books, crayons, and art lessons at The Toledo Museum of Art. This was my initial start to becoming an artist.
Upon graduating from high school with the help of student loans and grants, I managed to complete a year of college at Bowling Green State University, where I had hoped to major in art. Unfortunately, along with student loan debt, I had to drop out of school. I went home and took a job at a boutique where I was soon promoted to manager. During this time, I also took some modeling courses and was able to snag a few modeling jobs.
My real dream was to finish my art degree which would come much later. I left retail and started to work in banking while also taking night courses. In 1980 I moved to Atlanta, Georgia and found employment at The Centers for Disease Control Credit Union where I met my future husband, Dr. Frank Richards, Jr. Frank was an epidemiologist at The Centers for Disease Control. We were married in 1987 and his research immediately moved us to Guatemala.
While living in Guatemala, I learned Spanish, did illustrations for a Guatemalan fashion designer, coordinated fashion shows at The United States Embassy, and immersed myself in the culture. Guatemala has amazing paintings and tapestries in vibrant colors. It was not hard to fall in love with the people and landscapes, including the volcanoes that could be seen from my terrace. The most important part of the adventure was having my first daughter there.
My family and I returned home in 1992 and in 1993, we welcomed our second daughter. When my girls were old enough to go to school, I went back to finish my fine art degree. It was not easy, but I graduated with honors and I now hold a bachelor’s in fine art degree from Georgia State University.
After my husband retired from The Centers for Disease Control, he accepted the Supervising Director position for The River Blindness program at The Carter Center. I did some design work for my husband’s program and since then, I have been invited by President Jimmy Carter to donate a painting each year for his Summer Weekend Auction. My paintings have brought in over $50,000.00 for The Carter Center and the proceeds have gone toward their various non-profits and health programs.
I am presently one of thirty working artists at the Urban Art Collective in Chamblee, Georgia. I am self-employed and when I’m not doing shows, I do mostly commissions for clients. I have accomplished much on my path to becoming an artist. My journey is not over because there is still so much more to learn.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? Any advice for other women, particularly young women who are just starting their journey?
I wish that I could say that my life has been a smooth road. The answer to that question is no. My sister and I were raised by my grandmother, my great aunt, and my great uncle. We were a working-class and middle-class family. We did not have a lot of money, but with prayer, hard work, love, and laughter our needs were always being met.
Before I turned twenty, my great aunt and my great uncle passed away. My grandmother became ill and had to live with her sister in New York City. After this happened, real-life began for me. During my Sophomore year, I had to drop out of college and find a fulltime job. I had to rent an apartment and buy a car. My grandmother passed away when I was twenty-three. This was a very tough time for me. I still tried to find time to draw, but school became a distant memory. That dream would not happen until years later. Through it all, I kept the faith and remained optimistic.
My advice for young women and older women would be to stay true to yourself. Find ways to work toward your dream. In life, there will always be distractions or obstacles, but you have to remain focused. There were times in my life when I wanted to take a new road. I felt like the art world was unattainable. For me being a starving artist was not an option so I never quit my day job. I somehow had to create for myself a new beginning. I worked hard and saved what I could and soon, my brother asked me if I wanted to live with him and his family in Atlanta. It was there that my life changed and my dream was finally realized.
Technology has changed our lives with cell phones and the internet. If you want to be an artist and you have to postpone college, you can watch videos online. There are so many free tutorials on how to draw and paint. You can also order self-help books to read or even take online courses. Although I have a degree, I still take workshops with established artists that I admire. There are art centers all around town and Universities like Emory have continuing education classes.
You can join art guilds and associations like Alpha Art Guild, Dunwoody Fine Art Association, and Roswell Fine Art Association, all of these are in Georgia. Classes are taught at The Abernathy Art Center, The Spruill Art Center, Johns Creek Art Center, and The Alpharetta Art Center. Find ways to be around other artists for inspiration if you have the money start taking one or two classes at a University near you until you can go fulltime. Through it all don’t allow yourself to get depressed or discouraged. Believe that you can do this and stay optimistic.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I specialize in painting. Part of my degree was drawing and printmaking, but my emphasis was on painting. My work is impressionistic, romantic, and contemporary. I am known for being a representational painter with a hint of abstraction in the backgrounds. I love to paint elegant, fashionable women and also women from various ethnicities. I also paint animals and have many collectors of my birds and pet portraits. Lately, my work is moving toward a more impressionistic direction. This is happening because I have been outside more studying trees and exploring nature.
As an artist, I am very proud when my paintings find their forever home. There are paintings in my studio that have been sitting for years that even I had given up on. Suddenly, someone will come in the studio and go directly to that painting. This has happened many times and by now it shouldn’t surprise me. As a person who has worked in retail, I want to be that pushy salesperson, but art is different. Art has to speak to the buyer. When this happens, I know that that painting will be cherished for years to come.
I am encouraged when a viewer or collector voices what one of my paintings speaks to them. Some people have said that my work is friendly, peaceful, ethereal, and calming. It makes me happy when the message that I want to convey in work also resonates with the viewer. I am proud that I try to have many paintings available for middle class and working-class people. I believe that everyone should be able to afford and hang original art in their homes.
The fact that I push myself to learn new ways of doing art may set me apart from others. I am always reading art books and looking at tutorials. I still go to open figurative studios to paint live models. I hire models to sit for me, and I still take workshops. I enjoy change. Unlike many successful artists that I admire who have perfected certain subject matter, I have a hard time doing the same thing over and over again. I am always working. My husband said that his house is being taken over by canvases. He is telling the truth because not only do I paint in my studio at Urban Art Collective, but I also paint in my studio at home and in the kitchen. There is always something new on the easel.
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
I know that a lot of who I am today stems from the morals, values, confidence, and unwavering faith that was instilled in me from my grandmother. She was my rock.
At the age of fifteen, I started to live with my mother. She was so much fun to be around. She was very fashionable and friendly with a bubbly personality and an infectious laugh. She was also very spiritual. She kept us informed on current events in the news and entertainment because she was always reading a newspaper, novel, or a magazine. Every day we had wonderful conversations around the kitchen table. I think that I inherited a lot of her personality. Not to mention that she was also artistic.
As I mentioned earlier, there were many artists in my family aunts, uncles, cousins, and my dad. I watched my uncle’s paint and my father draw. Sometimes my dad and I would sit around and make up cartoons. My father was also a very funny man. He was always telling jokes when he wasn’t taking a nature walk or smoking a pipe. I definitely get my artistic ability from him.
I believe that my experience taking classes at The Toledo Museum of Art at the age of five planted a love for the arts in me. I also believe that my high school art teacher Mrs. Smith helped me to understand my potential. She was a wonderful influence in my life.
When I first moved to Georgia, I took classes at Lane School of Art in Downtown Decatur. Mr. Lane was very supportive of me and my art. He became one of my mentors. After my husband and I returned home from living overseas and I finished my education at Georgia State University I taught a few classes at his school.
I had many amazing professors at Georgia State University. I’ve also had some awesome instructors that I’ve worked with since graduating. My experience with being invited to donate paintings to The Carter Center’s Summer Weekend Auction really helped to build my confidence and self-esteem. I suppose that my interaction with family, educators, and mentors have played very important roles in my success in life. My husband and my daughters have always been my biggest supporters.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sherrisart.net
- Phone: 4042900241
- Email: info@sherrisart.com
- Instagram: sherrip.richards
- Facebook: sherrip.richards
- Other: saachiart.com
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