Cherri Van Syoc

Being an abstract artist, I love waking up in the morning with a fresh idea for a new painting and having that idea linger in my mind throughout the day. I then start composing it that evening, turning on music (it must be jazz), then digging in. I gravitate to colors like cerulean blue, yellow ocher, and a touch of orange/red, using black or dark blue to ground my paintings.

Every painting, as with life, has many layers. I have had rough spots throughout my years, which in my paintings I call texture. There have been times of trials, I call those the depth of the painting. And the happy, beautiful moments which every painting needs, I call highlights. The times of peace and calmness are the resting areas. And then there is the now, the reason for life, where you have been and where you are going -- the focal point.

Abstract painting isn’t at all just a splattering on the canvas, it’s the artist exposing their soul.