Sherry Bruce Smith is a fine artist based in Colorado, specializing in brightly colored and imaginative colored pencil compositions.

Artist Statement

While my work is realistic in nature, I have come to realize it is not the subject matter that excites me, but my emotional response to color, pattern, contrast, and shadow. Diverse shapes and bright colors lift my spirits and bring me a sense of joy.

To create my visions, I start with brightly patterned fabrics as the inspiration for my still lifes. I constantly haunt flea markets and thrift stores to collect reflective objects to use with my fabrics. Once home, it is a mad dash to gather all of the components I want to use in my new still lifes.  I head out to the deck where the sun bathes everything in its warm, natural glow. I take as many as 50 photos of each set-up to ensure that the composition is just right. Where the shadows fall upon the fabric is just as important to me as the objects that sit upon the fabric.

My drawing starts by creating a light outline with a graphite pencil. Color will then be layered very lightly at first, and then slowly more opaque layers are added until they all blend into a colorful finished piece of art. Patience is a key element when working layers in colored pencil. The soft blending that occurs upon layering cannot be reproduced with a paint brush. A large piece may take 6 to 8 weeks to finish, but the rewards are very well worth the time spent!

BFA, University Of Akron

Member – Colored Pencil Society of America