Sheryl Brown
Artist Statement
Art has been woven into my life since childhood, when my father would sit my siblings and me around the kitchen table with a bowl of fruit to paint. From those early sessions, I carried forward his love of art into a lifelong exploration of form, color, and expression.
Artist Bio
In the 1970s, I began with pottery and sculpture before shifting to watercolor in the 1990s, drawn to its luminosity and delicate layering. Acrylics followed, with their faster pace and bold colors, and during the isolation of COVID, I found myself immersed in cold wax and oil. This medium opened up an entirely new world—its capacity for layering, texture, and revelation mirrored my desire to uncover and reshape meaning.
While much of my early work was representational, my studies with artist and teacher Pamela Caughey during COVID led me into abstraction. Abstract work challenged me to let go of expectation, to embrace freedom, and to respond to the unexpected. That shift became a turning point in my practice.
My most recent series, The Unexplored, marks a deeply personal dive into minimalism inspired by the work of Kitty Sabatier. I was captivated by her contrasts—delicate lines against bold gestures, translucent layers against raw space. Working with a restrained palette of teal blue and quinacridone deep gold, I began to experiment with watercolor, acrylic, graphite powder, rusted tissue, ink, and collage. These materials became a way to push contrast, shape, and rhythm while exploring the tension between organic and geometric forms.
Each piece in this series taught me as much about process as outcome—how happy accidents, technical surprises, and even failed experiments could guide me forward. Ultimately, I discovered the elements that continue to ground my work: translucency, contrast, mark-making, and the interplay of gesture and form.
Through my work, I seek to create spaces where complexity is revealed through simplicity, where structure meets spontaneity, and where viewers are invited into their process of exploration and reflection.
My career outside of art has been rooted in fitness, wellness, and healing: as co-founder of the American Council on Exercise, Director of General Dynamics’ Corporate Wellness Program, co-founder of WellCoaches, founder of Healing Horse (an equine therapy program), and now, as a coach supporting people facing incurable diseases. These experiences have shaped my art as deeply as any medium—reminding me that healing, like painting, is layered, experimental, and open to discovery.
