Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Big Fat Art Barn

It never ceases to amaze me the creativity and talent of the artists I meet. I am especially amazed by artists that paint and draw. My skill for drawing and painting go as far as stick figures! Even then I am not sure if anyone would be able to depict the subject of my drawing! Sherry Hogan is an extremely talented artist that I met through the Dirt Road Artist Team.



Skinny Dipping By Sherry C Hogan

Below is my interview with Sherry.

Q: Tell me a little about yourself.

A: I was born on the battery in Charleston ,South Carolina and I have lived many places since that time. My parents traveled a good bit before I started school and since becoming an adult, I have moved about some. I have settled down, probably for good, here in Summerville, Ga.

Q: What are your other hobbies?

A: I love to read, crochet, ride horses, cook, restore old houses, and decorate them until they are beautiful again. I especially like gardening. I love being outside in the sunshine no matter what I am doing!

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: My passions are many I guess. I am passionate about my beliefs whether it is religion, mental and spiritual growth, always striving to be better…a more caring, more loving, more understanding person. I am passionate about being a good steward of this planet as a whole; caring for the people, the animals, the land. We have been given a grand blessing and we all should care for it and cherish it!

Q: What do you want people to know about you and your craft?

A: As far as being an artist, the only thing I could say is, this is the only thing I have ever really wanted to do or be…as far back as I can remember. I would hope that the desire and passion I feel for this thing called art would carry through to my endeavors and touch someone, at some time. My only desire for my art really is to make some body happy, sad, and hopeful, mad, angry, or even blissful…some reaction, some response. If I do that, then my art is speaking and I have done my job!

Q: What do you feel differentiates yourself from other artists in you craft?

A: I am not sure I can say that I am different from them all…no. It seems that, as far as technique goes, they have all been explored at one time or another. I guess we all strive to be different, but just as soon as you think you have managed it, you will find its been done. The only thing that sets any artist apart is his/her voice and how the artist manages to portray that in their art. Which takes us back to my other answer; I strive for a reaction!



By Sherry C Hogan

Q: Did you have a mentor?

A: The closest thing to a mentor that I ever had was a elderly man that was giving art lessons. He was an artist and a retired art teacher. One winter I took a few lessons from him in an adult class he was giving. After the class ended, he wanted me to continue. He gave me lessons free for a year and encouraged me in such a way that I truly, for the first time thought of myself as an “artist”.

Q: Your favorite materials and why are they are your favorite.

A: Not sure I have a favorite medium because I love to try new things but I do my paintings in a technique using color pencils and oil paint together which I know is an odd combination but it works so well for me.

Q: Do you dabble in other mediums?

A: Yes I do work in many mediums…drawing, pastel, oil, acrylic and more.

Q: How did you get started? How long have you been creating you art?

A: As a child, I managed to draw on everything. I am sure it drove my family to distraction. My aunt had one of those old tables popular when I was a kid, with the chrome sides and the colorful tops and I can’t think now what they are called. I could draw on it and then it just wiped off. I went to her house after school every afternoon, she would give me a snack and talk, and I would draw on the table. What started as a doodle evolved into something much more, I became engrossed in my drawing, and it became an entire scene of a nudist colony…houses, fences, people, and lots of trees and bushes and barrels, behind which all of the nudist could be found.I worked on it for a week and had the whole table covered. My obliging aunt left it there for me to work on …but that Sunday the minister came to visit and there was the nudist colony on her kitchen table. Needless to say, it was washed off after he left and my subject matter was screened from then on. I can’t remember a time in my life that I have not had a pencil in my hand.

Q: Do you sell on Etsy?

A: Yes, I have had an Etsy shop for about a year now. A friend clued me in to the sight. My website is bigfatframeshop.com. At the moment my art is only featured at my Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/BigFatArtBarn and my brick and mortal shop.

Q: Do you do art shows?

A: I have done art shows in the past but not anymore. Maybe again in the future…we’ll see!

Q: Do you have a special story about a piece you created?

A: I do have a painting that is very dear to me. I was going through a tough time in my life and truly wondered why I even needed to be on this earth and thought about leaving. I was very depressed and saw no way out of my unhappiness. I got up one morning, the house was empty, and I decided to paint. I had no notion of what, I just picked up the brush and went at that canvas as if my life depended on it and in essence, it did. Because, when I finished I sat back and looked at it and all I felt was hope for the future and I knew that I would never ever be that despondent again; that there would always be a sunrise and a better day ahead.



The Future By Sherry C Hogan

Q: What is your favorite piece?

A: It seems my greatest joys, associated with my art, was always with pieces I gave away or did for someone. I did a backdrop for the Chattanooga’s Boys Choir once for a show they were putting on. The piece was a scene of the Chattanooga skyline at night with the stars out. It was huge about 15” high and all the way across the stage. When the curtains opened, the entire audience just gasped and then sighed and finished with applause. I was standing in the back of the auditorium and all I could think was this was better than any amount of money I could ever make on a painting.



Cows by Sherry C Hogan

Sherry’s Websites:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BigFatArtBarn
http://bigfatframeshop.com/
http://bigfatartbarn.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Fat-Art-Barn/217634075032


6 comments:

  1. Nice interview. That horse is incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great view of a neat artist.It sure is nice to feel you know an artist in depth. It seems to make their art talk to you even more. Thanks for helping me know Sherry better and deeper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great interview! I love the painting "The Future" it has a very uplifting feel to it. Thank for sharing Sherry with us!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing such wonderful insight Sherry!

    Great feature Mel!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love Sherry's work. Her sunflowers make me happy just to look at them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great story- I love the part about the backdrop, what an amazing feeling that must have been! Nice getting to know Sherry :)

    ReplyDelete