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Sherry Steele uses animals to portray
the emotions that create the storm of
the human condition. She brings a
unique style to the field of wildlife
artistry with her signature technique
using permanent inks. Working from
sketches and studies done in the field,
she captures the essence of her subjects
and presents them as if you were there
beside her. Because the animals
spontaneously reveal their emotions
there is never a need to fabricate an
expression. Using her skills of
observation and perception, she delights
in feeling their unguarded emotion and
then sharing it with all who will look
into their eyes with her.
The journey has been a long
and circuitous one for someone whose
lifetime passions have been for wildlife
and art. Born in Tennessee at the foot
of the Great Smoky Mountains, she spent
her childhood there hiking and camping.
Then moving to Florida, the secluded
coves of the West Coast became her
playground and exploring their secrets
began to fill the sketchbook in her
mind. Following college and years of
moving with her family across the United
States, she finally settled in
Washington, D.C. where a new career
enveloped her. Working as a
Professional Staff Member on the
Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
for the House of Representatives
continued to present opportunities to
travel and observe the wildlife she
loved.
But the dream of devoting
her life to art never died, nor was it
to be denied. Boldly forgoing her
previous careers, in 1994 the insatiable
desire to depict wildlife as she sees it
became an uncompromising passion.
Without formal art training she took the
unforgiving medium of pen and ink and
made it her own. Abstaining from the
traditional approach of using watercolor
washes over black ink outlines, she
mixes her own shades of ink and builds
layers of rich color. The result
creates a texture and depth that becomes
almost sculptural as she literally
"paints with her pens".
Now working from her studio
in Austin, TX, she can finally let the
passion for her animals consume her as
she creates them one by one in her
time-consuming process. Join her in the
celebration of their beauty.
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