About Me
I am drawn to the majestic beauty of the natural world, and the pursuit of capturing the effects of light, shape and color in paint.
I wasn't born an artist, I worked hard to learn the fundamental building blocks of the mediums and the styles. I practiced drawing, painting and journaling daily in my quest to become a better artist. I've learned a great deal over the years, but I still learn more every day and my goal is to share it with you.
Teaching my students to understand the medium and the techniques so they have the tools to capture the essence of living, breathing three-dimensional subjects on a flat surface is my passion. I want every student to experience the joy of painting - without pressure in a relaxed environment.
My mission is to help people learn about art and how to make art. Friendly and responsive, I care about art and artists and want to contribute rather than take.
I enjoy both oils and watercolors for different reasons. Oils for their thick, opaque, tactile texture. I work in watercolor, because of the intuitive, transparent, organic quality of the paint. In process, watercolor is very opposite of oils in that I work from light to dark. Paradoxically, I find that working in one medium helps me to become more cognizant in the other.
Some artists that inspire me are Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, and Wayne Thiebaud. I am inspired by Van Gogh’s composition, abstract relationships and impasto paint.
John Singer Sargent's watercolors are loose and very asymmetrical, yet balanced. Wayne Theibaud incorporates abstraction and modern concepts and uninhibitedly plays with aesthetic ideas.
The main subject of my work is landscape and genre scenes. This is important to me, because I use them to show my perception of the world around me. My art making process consists of going out and taking pictures, making sketches involving color and value studies.
Then, I move to the finish. I am a contemporary artist, yet I use both modern and traditional approaches to achieve the effect I am looking for.
BIO
As a southern CA artist, Robert Sherrill portrays the majestic beauty of the natural world around him. Whether it's watercolor or oil, he captures the effects of light, shape, and color in his exhilarating paintings.
Raised in Southern California as a child, Robert lost himself in nature, art, and science. He spent his childhood hiking, camping, exploring, and raising animals with his family. It's these experiences reflected in his artwork today. As a child, I constantly drew, painting and journaling daily and always knew that studying nature and the world around me would be a part of my life.
My studies began at a young age when my mom would take me to museums. I continued studying art through high school. I finally took it more seriously at Riverside Community College when he accepted a position as a draftsman and artist at an architecture firm, then decided to further my knowledge at Art Center College of Design Pasadena, Ca, in 1987.
After graduating from Art Center in 1990, I worked as an illustrator, backdrop artist, and art director. He has shown in both group and solo exhibitions in southern California, participated in regional shows for three decades and published two books.
Today Robert spends much of his time painting, teaching figure, and Plein air painting at local colleges and workshops, giving lectures and jurying shows in his community.