Cheri Christensen Works

Cheri Christensen

 

Cheri Christensen

B    i    o    g    r    a    p    h    y

1961 -

Cheri Christensen was born in Enumclaw, Washington, a small rural town of dairies, horse and cattle ranches at the foot of Mt. Rainier. Her grandfather was a cattleman and was a big influence on the subject matter of her paintings.

Cheri studied oil painting intensely with Ron Lukas, a protégé of Sergei Bongart, who taught in the tradition of the Russian Impressionists. In her studies, Cheri concentrated on seeing and conveying the effects of light and color on forms.

The first painting she submitted to a competition was included in a prestigious exhibition at the Charles and Emma Frye Art Museum in Seattle. The first painting to include animals received the Beatrice Jackson Memorial award for Best Traditional Landscape in the Allied Artists of America 1995 show. She has since gone on to be represented and win awards in numerous regional, national, and international shows. Cheri is represented by several galleries nationally, such as McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe, N.M., InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, Eisenhauer Gallery on Martha's Vineyard, and Roby King Gallery on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Cheri has been featured in several magazines such as American Art Collector, Western Art Collector and Southwest Art Magazine. She currently has three videos available through Liliedahl Video Productions, “Straight Ahead," "Highlight", and "Keeping an Eye Out," where she demonstrates both her brush and palette knife techniques. She is also featured in the books, "Art Journey, New Mexico",  "Finding your Visual Voice: A Painter's Guide to Developing an Artistic Style" and “Reflections of the West, Cowboy Painters and Poets”. She currently resides in San Antonio, Texas, and teaches workshops in Fredericksburg, Texas.

“I am inspired by the simple, everyday interaction of the animals in their environment; the way that light dances across the form, the harmony of color relationships, and the shapes of light and shadow. I prefer early-morning light or late afternoon settings, with extreme back-lighting. My focus is on the farm animals and the use of color, light, and the texture of the oil paint to convey a mood.”