Sheryl Parsons

Sheryl has lived in the Westshore since age 7 and is a 4th generation Victorian; first in her family to graduate University. She took the Visual Arts program at UVIC earning her BFA in Painting in the early 80s. She has shown and sold in the Sooke and Sidney Fine Art Shows as well as Metchosin ArtPod, Coast Collective, Sooke Arts Council and Arts and Culture Colwood galleries. She is currently a volunteer coordinator of the twice a year Community Art Show at the Arts and Culture Colwood Centre at 170 Goldfinch RD. Sheryl works primarily in Water-soluble oil on canvas with an underpainting of acrylic. Trees, beaches and local scenes have been a common theme but since retirement Sheryl has been exploring more abstract themes and combining abstract with landscape for a more bold and expressive brushwork style. Vincent Van Gogh, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven have had strong influence in her painting.

The painting, "Is anybody Listening? - Does anyone Understand?" began as an exploration in the joy of abstract expressionism basically for the purpose of my own art therapy. Magazine and Bible pages were collaged onto the wood panel with layers of paint and some stenciling. Unhappy with the result, I sanded the whole surface down to the first layer. I was surprised to see that the bible pages' top surfaces were gone and the printed words on the underside were mirror imaged. I found it very compelling to try to read the backwards words, trying to understand a text that already has so many hidden and cryptic meanings. I began thinking about the original languages and how that would add another layer of mystery. I added pages from a Hebrew prayer book and the Greek message in the center meaning 'Grace and Peace to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord' which is how Paul would open most of his letters. Of course not their real names as the western church changed many things in the English translation to help enlighten western readers but sacrificing the actual flavor, meanings and cultural traditions of the original languages.