Expressions Fine Art and Gift Gallery ~ Opening Day

GALLERY IS NOW CLOSED    

Opening day at the gallery is fast approaching! We plan on the first day of business to happen Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 10:00AM. It's so exciting for all of us to have a permanent place to show and sell our art. The gallery will also be a "home base" for the Holmes County Art Group, whose members have provided some much appreciated help with the cleaning and painting to get the building ready.

Started by local artist and tea lover, Vickie Boley whose business World Cup Teas, LLC is the vehicle for the endeavor, she also hopes to begin organizing classes on various art related topics for both children and adults taught by several instructors. Featuring and staffed by local artist volunteers, it is hoped that the gallery will become a hub for fine arts and creative events of the area to be announced.

Featured artists will include Eva Artrip, photography, note cards, ornaments - KJ Coblentz, fine art photography - Barbara Hill-Rickman, acrylic paintings and mixed media art - David Ernst, pen & ink, comic book art - Brian Sommers, abstract paintings - Cheryl Miller, botanical art, landscapes and local architecture in graphite, colored pencil and pastel and hand painted ornaments - along with several other artists consigning their works as space allows. Vickie's fine teas will also be a feature of the gift shop.

The gallery is located at 414 North Washington Street, Millersburg, OH beside the Castle Club Banquet Center (former Castle Nursing Home office) on the Historical Society Campus. The hours as we begin this adventure will be ~ Thursday and Friday, 10AM - 4PM, and Saturdays will follow the Victorian House Museum hours of 1PM - 4PM or by chance or appointment. Hours will be extended during the holidays. 

Art Gallery coming soon~

It might not look like there is much happening yet on the outside, but inside a group of local artists are feverishly working to transform this house with the red shutters into the new Expressions ~ fine art gallery and gifts, located at 414 North Washington St., in Millersburg, OH.

It will include the works of local artists along with World Cup Teas, LLC and other fine gifts. Be watching for opening day coming soon....

Cultural Center Antiques & Art Fair

Next Saturday, June 14, 2014, The Holmes County Cultural Center will present an Antiques and Art Fair from 10AM ~ 4PM.

Several antiques vendors will be set up on the porch of the Victorian House Museum. Artists, including a few members of the Holmes County Art Group, will be in tents on the lawn with their art and other fine crafts. Included at the fair will be fine art photography, pen and ink renderings of local scenes, home made soaps, and jewelry made from antique spoons. I will be there with my landscapes, historical architecture and botanical art, prints, cards, ornaments and tiles. Some of the artists may be demonstrating their techniques part of the morning and afternoon. I'll be sharing my tent with Vickie Boley of World Cup Teas, LLC. She will be offering a selection of fine teas for purchase.

The Victorian House and Millersburg Glass Museums will also be open for tours. It should be a fun day. I'm looking forward to spending time with the artists and antiques dealers and seeing what they have brought to sell. And, of course, I always enjoy chatting with visitors who attend. ~ RAIN DATE:  June 21st.

Victorian House Museum, 484 Wooster Road, Millersburg, OH.

Apricot Parrot tulip ~ ceramic tile

The third in the series of botanical ceramic art tiles includes this new 6" x 8" image of Tulipa "Apricot Parrot" and bulb.

It comes with a D-ring attached to the back for easy hanging or it can also be displayed on an easel, as shown here.

more botanical fine art ceramic tiles ~

I now am offering two designs in my series of 4"x4" fine art ceramic tiles. I have recently added tiles made from my original colored pencil drawing of  a cone from the red pine tree (pinus resinosa).

The tiles have a soft finish and may be framed or look just as nice sitting on an easel without the expense of an added frame. For decorative purposes only.

I am offering them at a "new product" introductory price of $15 each. They may be purchased by contacting me at the link above.

Pinus strobus ~ white pine cone

Pinus strobus ~ white pine cone, a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

I always enjoy drawing pine cones. Such fascinating form. This particular cone was one of the first to develop on our white pine tree in the front yard.

Pinus strobus ~ white pine cone
Colored pencil on Fabriano h/p w/c paper
Image size ~ 2 1/4" x 5 1/2"

"First Morning on the Beach"

"First Morning on the Beach", a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

The excitement of seeing the ocean for the first time with the whole week before you to explore and recharge.

"First Morning on the Beach" 13" x 21" ~ graphite on Bristol board

Location ~ Nags Head, NC

Botanical Fine Art Ceramic Tiles

hydrangea tile 4x4, a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

Hydrangea "Nikko Blue" is the first in a series of fine art ceramic tiles featuring my botanical art designs. I am very excited to offer this new product in addition to my prints, cards and original art.

This design is available as a 4"x4" tile, for decorative purposes only, as a piece of fine art sitting nicely on an easel. No framing is necessary.

"While weeding the garden one day..."

"While weeding the garden one day...", a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

Back in the garden....artistically speaking, that is...
As the temperature took a dive far below freezing a few days ago and the wind blew and the snow came down, I thought it would be good to start the new year off thinking about warmer times.

I started this piece 13 years ago--hardly seems possible! I call it "While weeding the garden one day..." The inspiration? ~ I was weeding the flower border one summer morning and looked up to see the zinnias in all their glory up against the blue sky. It was a stunning sight.

While I do love the winter, I am also looking forward to spring and a new growing season to inspire and record in my artwork.

"While weeding the garden one day..." ~  14" x 10" ~ colored pencil on Stonehenge paper

My new cards ~

My new cards ~, a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

Painting Ornaments ~

ornaments, a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

For a little something different, I usually paint up some floral ornaments around Christmastime each year. They are a nice break from the intense detail of my usual work. Joining my display of botanical and other artwork I will have a supply of ornaments ready to go for the Holmes for the Holidays Art Show in Millersburg this weekend (Nov. 23), and The Holiday Artisans Market, Dec. 6 & 7 in Wooster, Ohio.

Preparing for the Nature Art Fest

I think I have most everything packed up and ready to go to the Nature Art Fest at Wolf Creek this coming weekend ~ Saturday, November 9, 10am-5pm and Sunday, November 10, 12 noon - 4pm. This is my first year participating in this show and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a beautiful venue.

I will be taking mostly botanical art with a few landscapes sprinkled in. And bunches of new note cards, including the holly branch pictured here.

Stop by if you're in the area. It looks like a very nice event.

White oak leaf with acorns (quercus Alba)

White oak leaf with acorns (quercus Alba), a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

While on our annual trip to the cottage on Catawba Is. I found these acorns with leaf attached on a morning walk on the beach. I thought the green of the acorns was so striking and had to bring some along home with me. The color quickly changed even though I kept them in the fridge. Maybe it was too cold? But I am learning to take many photos and made some color notes and sketches. This is the result. A memory of our vacation by Lake Erie.

Remembering Mom

rosa "Cadenza" (aka "Annie's Red"), a photo by Art by Cheryl on Flickr.

I have been working most of the summer on this flower portrait of rosa "Cadenza" aka "Annie's Red. It is from a bush that I have growing by the fence in my cottage border. As I am finding with so many of the plants in my garden there is also a story that goes with this special rose.

In 2002 at the passing of my Mom, a close friend who shares my love of gardening said that she would like to remember my mother with a rose to plant and that I should pick out one that reminded me of her. Mom's gift was loving people and being a faithful friend. Right away I knew that the rose would have to be red. Just seemed right as I remember her wearing red on occasion and it seemed to fit her personality. Not in a bright, explosive way but rather, as this rose illustrates, more deep and subdued. Miss you Mom. :)

rosa "Cadenza" aka "Annie's Red"
~colored pencil on h/p Fabriano Artistico
fine art prints and note cards available