We recently had the chance to connect with Steve Sherrell and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Steve, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
A lot of things. I search for these moments in my life. I am an artist, a painter and computer artist. Most of my days are consumed by the things I make and the business of keeping things fresh and alive. I paint everyday. I make a piece of computer art everyday. I often play music, I have a mixture of instruments, from guitars to keyboards and synthesizers. I live on a river and often I sit for a while looking at the river pass by. So my goal is to just be in the moment all the time. Pushing outside yourself into an activity is the essence of inspiration, and I am constantly inspired.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a visual fine artist living in the greater Chicago area. I was a Professor of Art for many years, now I direct the art galleries at a western Chicago art center, Water Street Studios, in Batavia, Illinois. My studio is in my home where I live with my wife, two dogs and a feisty cat named Oliver. My studio overlooks the Fox River in a semi rural setting with plenty of north light.
I paint contemporary paintings, working in many mediums, oil, acrylic and various mixed medias. I also make work on the computer. I first started using the computer for artmaking in 1992 on an Amiga 1200. My daughter calls me an OG Computer Artist. I can live with that.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I had just started college at Ball State University in Indiana. I had no idea what I wanted to be or what to aim for. My father had always talked about me being an architect but my grades were not good enough. I had spent my childhood exploring my boundaries, testing the limits, examining the minutia. A counselor suggested that I take an art course so I chose a drawing class. The first few weeks were rather humdrum, still lifes and such. One day the teacher tore off large pieces of brown craft paper and told us to draw what we felt. I started drawing with charcoal with the paper on the floor and as I drew, I had an epiphany: I realized to the depths of my self, that I was an artist and would be for the rest of my life. All I had to do after that was learn HOW to be an artist, which took me many years to achieve.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
No, but there were times when I was so poor that I barely scraped by, often taking on day work to just get by.
After grad school, I was cleaning the local Big Boy restaurant every night after they closed. I would sleep a little before, get up and clean the restaurant, then go home, sleep and then paint all day. I was married and had a young child, but even with my wife working we didn’t have enough to get by. As the years went on, before I started teaching, things got tighter and tighter. I moved from low paying jobs to low paying jobs. I was showing in Chicago. In the Chicago art world I was an up and coming young artist, but in my home life, I was playing pretty close to the bone. I took me 18 years after grad school to get a full time teaching job at the local college,
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
I try to protect the idea that an artist is not a just a person who produces product, but is a part of the culture that is needed whether or not the culture realizes it or cares.
A couple days ago I judged an important art fair in the area. As I walked around talking to the artists, admiring their work as they looked to make a sale, I thought about all of my other friends who never sell work, who work day in and day out at their craft. There are all types of artists and all types of art. To quote Joseph Campbell the highest road for an artist is to “Follow your bliss” regardless of whether it takes you down a financially sound road or not. Art is about honesty and integrity and sometime we have to sacrifice material success to achieve that.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
That we were put here by the universe because of what we do and what we think. We are the voices and thoughts of the universe, without the earth the universe is cold and void. We see ourselves as a scourge but in fact we are here because we are needed. We just need to learn how to get it right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stevesherrell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevesherrell.art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.art/
- Other: https://www.stevesherrell.art
Image Credits
Sally Sherrell
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