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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2010
BEYOND LAX - PASO ROBLES
A Place of Wine, Waters
and Wonderful Scenery
In the San Luis Obispo County town of Paso Robles rejuvenating water, spectacular wine and wonderful scenery make for a laidback getaway. Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, the historic community became known for its healing hot sprints during California's mission period. The first hot springs hotel opened in 1868 and modern-day facilities continue to count natural spas among their assets. The area's vineyards have an equally impressive heritage. Grapes were first planted here more than two centuries ago. Today, more than 200 wineries add to the local entertainment options while vineyards enhance the already lovely landscape.
Artists congregate here, eager to capture the area's beauty. Laurel Sherrie, a member of San Luis Obispo Outdoor Painters for the Environment (SLOPE), said that painting the
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November 25, 2007
The Tribune featured Laurel in Sunday's "Central Coast Living" Section. Her article included six paintings and was spread over three pages, to a circulation of 48,000 San Luis Obispo County Residents. See the full article:
HER OILS BREATHE IN THE OPEN AIR
South County artist, Laurel Sherrie, combines a love of impressionism and working ‘en plein air’ to produce vivid canvases of Central Coast landmarks — from Big Sur and Morro Rock to Pismo Beach and Huasna Valley. By Lee Sutter
Everyone has known kids like Laurel Sherrie. The class artist. In first grade, she was the one that the other kids gathered around, asking her to draw them a picture of a Christmas tree or an Easter bunny. “I remember trying to draw the person’s face in front of me instead of listening to the teacher,” the South County artist recalled of her early school years. By high school in the Chicago suburbs, she’d moved on to oils. She took a few art classes during college, then dropped out and headed west to Berkeley. It was 1969. Say no more. “Lots of stories there,” Sherrie said with a laugh. Sherrie now enjoys success as an artist, especially with an ongoing show at SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach. Mostly self-taught, she took a hiatus from fine art for a spell, making a living as a graphic designer. During this period, Sherrie became absorbed in the work of French Impressionist Claude Monet, whose work she’s always admired. “In the late ‘80s I started to read up on him. I just became so fascinated with him and his life and his dedication to art,” she recalled. “It inspired me to really work at the subject.” So Sherrie threw herself into her art, taking photos, turning out detailed crisp paintings in her studio and selling her work. But in 1994, her entire style and method took a 90-degree turn after an outdoor painting workshop with famed plein air artist Ted Goerschner in Los Olivos. “That was a big changing point,” Sherrie said. It was her first experience of painting en plein air, or “in the open air,” and she became hooked. She struggled with the new style for a year, no longer caring about selling her previous work but not quite up to speed on the new style. “I was sort of in limbo for a while,” she reflected. Sherrie quickly learned that painting outdoors requires working extremely fast, capturing the light, shadows and essence of the moment with no time to stop and think. “I completely changed how I was painting,” she said.
Three years ago, she joined San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment or SLOPE; this year she’s the organization’s president. She and the other notable artists in that group take weekly sojourns to paint on-site. But they don’t have to seek out scenic properties to help save through their paintings. “Usually people approach us to do a show,” she said. For instance, SLOPE has already started painting scenes of the Point San Luis Lighthouse for a show next September and has another show lined up with the San Luis Obispo Land Conservancy. “We get access to places we wouldn’t normally get access to, like going to the lighthouse,” Sherrie said. “It’s wonderful.”
But as much as she enjoys painting with her colleagues, Sherrie's basically a loner. "I like to paint out by myself, actually," she said. "I grab my paint, my dog, my truck," and then heads into the country near her home. "If something grabs me, I stop." Sherrie lives in rural Arroyo Grande with her husband, Bob Harvey, plus their border collies, parakeet, exotic finches, and chickens. Sherrie is winding down after a busy few months. Now Sherrie is flying high. "I'm doing art full time," she said. "Finally."
Since 1990 Sherrie has exhibited her work in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties. She's a member of the San Luis Obispo Art Association, El Camino Art Association and Oil Painters of America. In addition to her SeaVenture exhibit, now going into its third year, her artwork has been featured at Saucelito Canyon Vineyard, Ron’s Nursery in Grover Beach and a fundraiser for Monterey Museum of Art in the city of Monterey. Plus her art graces the cover of the Atascadero Native Tree Association’s 2008 calendar. |
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 Laurel Sherrie's Villicana End of Summer, 9" x 12" oil. Her art-including this piece-is currently displayed at the Villicana Winery.
vineyards and hills of the county she calls home allows her to spend time in her favorite studio. "Outdoor work fosters an intense involvement with the landscape," she explained. "I am hoping that my work will inspire people to save what we have."
Sherrie's work is currently on display at the Villicana Winery, a small family-owned operation that produces small batches made from estate fruit. Get there via SkyWest service to San Luis Obispo airport, a lovely half-hour drive away.
SKYWEST MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 UNITED EXPRESS
For the whole SkyWest Magazine, go to www.skywestmagazine.com
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SKYWEST MAGAZINE, MAY/JUNE 2006
ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA’S LAUREL SHERRIE
PAINTER WITH A MISSION
Laurel Sherrie enjoys an idyllic life. She, her husband, Bob Harvey, and a menagerie of dogs and birds experience a rare unspoiled bit of California. Their Arroyo Grande home hugs the side of a canyon just six miles from the Pacific’s shore. The acre and a half is covered with natural vegetation-fitting habitat for an abundance of California Quail.
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A pair Red-tailed Hawks nest in the eucalyptus trees just beyond her property. For Sherrie, days are marked by walks on the beach, plenty of plein-air painting and drives through San Luis Obispo County’s picturesque countryside. At night, the Milky Way soars above their slice of heaven on earth; its radiance unspoiled by city lights.
San Luis Obispo County offers the ideal environment for a woman whose work has always been driven by the forces of nature. The Illinois native headed west after college, landed in Los Angeles and never looked back. After living for a time in Santa Barbara and Ventura, she and her husband settled into a home of their own further north in San Luis Obispo County.
“I love California in general, with all the different climates and scenes-the ocean, cliffs, beaches, mountains. In this county everywhere I look I see a painting. I go down the road and there seems to be a million things I need to capture. There’s so much I want to communicate, and I do it the best way I can-with paint.”
Sherrie, who credits French Impressionists Monet and Pissaro among her primary influences, has a lot to say. “Painting outdoors allows me to be in my favorite ‘studio.’ I love to work plein-air. There’s a need to create fast and without hesitation. I love to paint early-morning and late-afternoon light. The drama of the shadows and the golden cast on the mountains or the sea creates wonderful designs. It just takes hold of me. Outdoor work fosters that intense involvement with the landscape.”
Although she also does some still life and often finishes a project in her home studio, protecting the landscape through her art is among Sherrie’s primary goals. “I hope to share my passion for nature through my work. I’m hoping that it will inspire people to help save what we do have.”
Sherrie is part of the San Luis Obispo Outdoor Painters for the Environment (SLOPE). “Our group goes out and paints sensitive environments. Then we have a show, with some of the proceeds from the sale going to preserve the place.” Her zeal for the natural world found its way into the painting depicted on this edition’s cover. “The Snowy Plovers in Pismo Beach Sunset are an endearing little endangered bird that nests on the beaches here,” she explained. “That was quite a painting. The sunset was so intense it was like the sky was on fire. When I find a scene like that, it so grabs my interest, I get so involved with what I’m doing. It’s like time stands still. I don’t notice the discomforts that go with painting outdoors like bugs or heat or wind. All that matters is that I’m painting what I love.”
Toward that end, she “paints all over this county. SLO is so varied. There’s so much here. If I painted everything that I saw, I would be busy for a million years.” However, as Laurel Sherrie knows all too well, time may be running out for some of her favorite settings. “I was out painting some lovely eucalyptus trees the other day. I wanted to paint them again, but when I went back, they were gone,” she said.
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October 2008
Laurel was Cover Artist for the October issue of Vine Times, a monthly magazine About California found in wineries, hotels, bookstores and more, with a monthly readership of 80,000. This magazine goes to wine enthusiasts nationally! Her painting "Misty Morning IV" was on the cover.
August 2007
Laurel was Cover Artist for the August issue of Vine Times, a monthly magazine About California found in wineries, hotels, bookstores and more, with a monthly readership of 80,000. This magazine goes to wine enthusiasts nationally! Her painting "Summer's Kiss II, Saucelito Canyon Vineyard" was on the cover.
January 2007
Laurel was the Featured Artist in the national newsletter, Guerrilla Painter Newsletter with a photo of her painting on location and "Arch Rock Mendocino," a knife painting.
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