Sherrie Pettigrew

Sherrie aquaphobe 600sept 2 – 28 
Gainesville resident Sherrie Pettigrew obtained her MFA from the University of Florida, and has spent thirty years establishing herself in the art community; showing in street venues in the ’80s and ’90s and, more recently, The Thomas Center, Hippodrome State Theater and the DORIS Art Center. She recently retired from teaching art in the public school system.
Influenced by Chuck Close, Joan Miró, and Cy Twombly, Pettigrew says her mind spins with visual history she finds overwhelming. “I come from honesty in my approach, making work that isn’t always pretty. These pieces are about emotion, often without cognitive consideration; recording my own hypersensitive view. I often leave the room laughing after spending hours with a piece that seems to me way too serious after being haunted by it for ages, then releasing it into a more concrete statement.”
Pettigrew composes from real objects and the people around her, drawing from both color photographs and from life; often mixing them together to articulate what she feels. “Images come to me in the shower, theater, market, and street brought on by emotions complete with smells, sounds, and visions seldom shared until they are actualized.”
Graphite pencil and graphite powder are the primary media, with paint or chalk pastel sometimes added later in the process. “As I make these pieces, my thoughts become images — a visual vocabulary that I call up again and again. This work is a visual diary. It is as if I have explained something of myself to myself,” she says.
Butterfield Garage Art Gallery, 137 King St., St. Augustine, (904) 825-4577.

Author: Arbus

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