Desert Artist

         Cheryl was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in the lush Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky.  From early youth the splendor of nature and the beauty of light inspired her to sketch and paint.  Although Cheryl's greatest desire was to be an artist, she was encouraged to study drafting after being awarded first place in a national drafting competition when she was 16 years old.  She went on to earn three technical college degrees in Architectural Design, Technical Drawing and Computer Aided Drafting-Computer Aided Machining.  After graduation Cheryl moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to design contemporary grocery stores.

          A job transfer took Cheryl and her husband, Paul, to the scenic mountains of Western Maryland where they resided for 11 years.  She continued to work as a draftsman drawing custom home plans for independent contractors, illustrating patent applications for inventors and designing art for the children's clothing industry. 

          After many years as a designer, she realized her desire to paint was too great to go on with drafting after a 1992 visit to the Sonoran Desert.  Cheryl studied every book she could find on watercolors then took a couple of beginner workshops to make sure she was on the right track.  Soon she was exhibiting and winning awards throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.  This drew the attention of several prominent artists and interior designers that took her under their wings and shared their knowledge of how to succeed as an professional artist.

          In 1998 Cheryl's husband, Paul, brought her closer to her dream when he moved them and their animal menagerie to the Desert Southwest.  Today, she lives and maintains a studio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Being an avid hiker and off-road enthusiast, her recent paintings reflect images encountered along remote desert trails throughout the Southwest.  Cheryl is represented by Purcell Galleries of Fine Art which is located in the historic artists' village of Tubac, Arizona.

Inspired

"It was after my first visit to the Sonoran Desert that I
traded my technical pencils for watercolor brushes.

After my flight landed, I drove directly for the desert
floor.  Monsoon skies were turbulent and dark;
lightning was crashing down.

As the clouds started to break, double rainbows arched above; the Sun burned thru openings in the sky.    

All around me the desert was awakening with wildflowers and swelling cactus buds.

The Desert was calling..."
 

Actual photographs of that day by Paul Weinfurtner ©1992