I was lucky to grow up in a small community in Wisconsin that valued art education for its youth and as a child developed a passion for creating. But first came a career as a CPA and my creative tendencies were put on hold until I was able to devote sufficient time to painting. Since retiring from accounting, I have studied with the best instructors I could find. Recently that includes Daniel Keys, Aswhini Bharathula, Timothy Rees, and Robin Cole. Oil quickly became my medium of choice for its versatility and vibrance. My technique depends on my subject and ranges from realism to thick paint applied with a palette knife. Although I paint landscapes, figurative and everything in between, I have an affinity for painting water. Challenging reflections, mysteries glimpsed below the surface, and tranquility that draws you to linger for hours. This is what I hope to capture.
Sheri Farabaugh's paintings have received many awards and recognition, and have been juried into numerous local and national exhibitions. She has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur, Art of the West, Southwest Art, and International Artist among others. Sheri is a member of the Oil Painters of America, American Society of Marine Artists, American Women Artists, and an Associate Master of the Art Renewal Center.
Published Articles:
May/June 2021 Art of the West - Feature Article.
May 2019 Southwest Art Magazine - Feature Article.
October/November 2017 International Artist Magazine - Feature Article and demo on painting water
March/April 2016 Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine - Featured Artist and Cover
Fall Quarter American Society of Marine Artists News and Journal - Featured Artist article by Charles Raskob Robinson
Selected Exhibits and Awards
May 2023 Governor's Show, Loveland Art Museum, CO
March 2023 Oil Painters of America National Exhibit, Reinert Fine Art, Charleston, NC
February 2023 Salmagundi Club, NY, NY Honorable Mention in the Time of Day Exhibit
February 2023 Excellence in Arts Award, Brighton Cultural Arts Community, Brighton, CO
September 2022 Solo Exhibit at Abend Gallery, 1261 Delaware, Denver CO
June 2022 Governor's Show, Loveland Art Museum, CO Best in Show
June 2022 Art Renewal Center, 16th International ARC Salon, 2 paintings advanced to Finalist
May 2022 Salmagundi Club Member's Show, Salmagundi Club NYC
September 2021 Two person show at Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO
May 2021 Salmagundi Club Member's Show, Salmagundi Club NYC
February 2021 Bold Brush Art Contest December 2020, Finalist
September 2020 Art Renewal Center, 15th International ARC Salon, Finalist
September 2020 Governor's Show, Loveland Art Museum, Loveland, CO Merit Award
October 2019 Designated as an Associate Living Master by the Art Renewal Center
April 2018 Award of Excellence American Women Artists, Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY
March 2018 Artists' Choice Award Cowgirl Up!, Desert Caballeros Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
September 2017 Awarded Signature Status with American Women Artists
April 2017 Outstanding Landscape, American Women Artists Spring Juried Online Exhibit
January 2017 Creative Achievement Award, International Guild of Realism's Salon 'Eleven Garlic Scapes'
December 2016 Awarded Signature Membership in the Oil Painters of America
September 2016 Award of Excellence from American Women Artists for 'Yellowstone Creek'
April 2016 Featured Artist and Cover of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine
August 2015 Western Regional Oil Painters of America Award of Excellence
June 2015 Elected Treasurer of the American Society of Marine Artists
June 2015 Seascapes, Lakes, and Rivers Feature in International Artist Magazine
May 2015 24th National Oil Painters of America Exhibit, St. Augustine, FL
November 2014 Colorado Plein Air exhibit. Honorable Mention
October 2014 Featured artist. American Society of Marine Artists Quarterly
October 2014 Southwest Art Magazine. Artistic Excellence Award
June 2014 Oil Painters of America National Exhibit, Bennington, VT
Honorable Mention Realism
May 2014 Elected to Signature membership in the American Society of Marine Artists
April 2014 Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
April 2014 Featured as an Artist to Watch in Southwest Art Magazine
January 2014 Scottsdale Artists School, Best and Brightest, Scottsdale, AZ Honorable Mention
December, 2013 Boldbrush Online Competition, 3rd Place
September 2013 OPA Western Regional, Southwind Gallery, Topeka, KS
September 2013 International Guild of Realism, Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe, AZ
July 2013 Artists Magazine Finalist
June 2013 OPA Salon, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petosky, MI
April 2013 International Salon, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
April 2013 Governor's Invitational Exhibit, Loveland Museum, Loveland Colorado
September 2012 Best of Show, Louisville Art Association National Exhibit
June 2012 Oil Painters of America Nation Exhibit, Evergreen Colorado
April 2012 Scottsdale Salon, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
International Salon, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
September 2011 Best of Show, Louisville Art Association National Exhibit
April 2011 Juror's Honorable Mention and Top 50
International Salon/Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Scottsdale Salon, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
October 2010 Best in Show, Lone Tree Art Exhibit, Lone Tree, CO
Oil Painters of America Regional Exhibit, Trailside Gallery, Jackson, WY
American Impressionist Society 11th Annual National Exhibit, Nashville TN
Artist's Choice Award, Artists of Colorado Exhibit,
Colorado Artist's Guild, Denver, CO
April - May 2010 Oil Painters of America National Exhibit
Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale Arizona
January 2010 Paint America Top 100
Juror's Award Winner for "Running the Rapids"
Paint America Top 50 Mini
1st Place Oils
Glendale Fine Arts Show, Glendale AZ
Award of Excellence
Arizona Artist's Guild Winter Exhibit
October 2009 Best in Show, Lone Tree Art Exhibit
Purchased by the City of Lone Tree, CO
Accepted into the Artists of Colorado
14th Annual Juried Exhibit
September 2009 Best in Show Louisville National Fine Art Show
Louisville, CO
July-Aug 2009 Featured Artist at Aar River Gallery
Westminster, CO
February 2009 Best in Show
Wickenburg Fine Art Exhibit, Wickenburg AZ
January 2009 2nd Place Oils
Glendale Fine Arts Show, Glendale AZ
October 2008 1st Place Artists of Colorado Exhibit
Standing Sun Gallery, Denver, CO
June 2008 Commissioned artist for Mile Hi Mile race sponsored
by the Greenway Foundation, Denver, CO
April 2008 Artist of Promise Award
Maricopa County Chancellor, AZ
January 2008 Best in Show, Glendale Fine Arts Exhibit
Glendale, AZ
November 2008 Published in the Traveler Magazine
GCC's Annual Art and Literature Publication
April 2007 Exhibit and Cultural Exchange
China Art Institute, Shanghai China
Emerging Artists | Sheri Farabaugh
Sheri Farabaugh, A Wink and a Nod, oil, 24 x 18.
This story was featured in the April 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art April 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!
When Sheri Farabaugh was growing up in Wisconsin, she spent summers nearby at her grandfather’s cottage on Wind Lake. Farabaugh recalls that she often kayaked and loved floating through weeds or rocking in the wakes of other boats. As an artist she remains intrigued by water, transfixed by the reflections, the transparency, and the way water can convey both power and peacefulness.
As a child Farabaugh enjoyed drawing and painting, but when it came time for college, she nurtured her scientific interests, earning a degree in biochemistry. For several years she worked in the research and development division of the Coors Brewing Company. Later she became a CPA and worked as a tax accountant until 2005. She soon began pursuing a full-time career in fine art, eventually studying at the Art Students League of Denver. Today the Colorado-based artist thinks her love of painting detail stems, in part, from her background in accounting. “I do my best to capture every ripple, splash, and nuance of color,” she says.
In A WINK AND A NOD she trains her eye on lotuses floating on a pond at the Denver Botanic Gardens. More than the flowers themselves, it was the pattern of the leaves and their reflections that she found beautiful. “I imagined one flower bowing demurely while the other one flirted with a wink,” Farabaugh says. “But what I choose to paint is less about subject and more about finding strong design—an interesting abstract shape.”
Farabaugh’s attention to detail has been richly rewarded with top honors and invitations to juried shows. In 2013 she received a third-place award in a BoldBrush online painting competition and a top honor at the Scottsdale Artists’ School’s annual Best and Brightest show.
To this day, Farabaugh says, when she returns to visit her grandfather’s cottage, she still climbs into the kayak for some treasured time on the lake. “It’s just me, the water, the weeds, and a few fish,” she says. —Bonnie Gangelhoff
Representation
Mary Williams Fine Art, Boulder, Colorado
Featured in the April 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art April 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!
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