Cheryl Summers
Abstract Realism - Mixed Media Fine Art

« previous artist // all artists // next artist »

Cheryl Summers

"Motion is a distinct element within my artworks, suggesting the vast power and energy of our natural environment, windowed through my own interpretation."
                                                                                                         Cheryl Summers


Winner 2005 Boston Mills Arts Festival
Juror Mention Award

We discovered Cheryl Summers on a sunny Fall afternoon, while strolling through dozens of fine craft exhibits crowding the streets of an outdoor art festival downtown Alexandria, VA.  We were exhilarated by the wealth of fine craft talent available to those of us lucky enough to have easy access to festivals such as this one.  In fact it was a desire to spread our good fortune that led to the online creation of Global Artisan Showcase in 2000.

As we poked through one outstanding exhibt after another, wishing only for more hours in this day, we were stopped in our tracks by Cheryl's fine art of abstract realism above all others.  It was her luscious sense of color and whimsical detailed designs that first drew us in.  Her passion and respect for her own stylized view of the world held us and emptied our pocketbooks.

Throughout her life, Cheryl has been devoted to art in many forms, ranging from theatrical neighborhood carnivals, to playing piano and guitar, to becoming a sought-after faux and mural painter.  Her love of the natural environment led her to produce award-winning floral designs.  The evolution of her talent and skill finally allowed her to skip her day jobs and devote herself to experiments with painting in colors and textures that are rapidly bringing her awards and prominence in the Eastern United States.

Summers' stylish mixed media technique includes mixing translucent glazes with acrylics to give a soft, tansparent look, much like watercolors.  She mixes heavy body, thicker gels with paints to add texture, and adds delicate highlights with acrylic ink.  Her fine art is also influenced by the beauty of the natural environment surrounding her studio, which is nestled among English perennial gardens and Japanese Koi ponds. 

Jan Ryan