By Nancy Brannon, Ph.D.
A new art studio has recently opened in Arlington, Tennessee – called the Little Studio on the Square. It’s located next to S.Y. Wilson’s store, and was once one of the original Wilson-owned buildings. Owned by Ashley Burns and her husband Paul, the grand opening was July 15, 2017. One of the first exhibitors at the Little Studio is Samantha Sherry, whose art you may have seen at the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June.
Samantha Sherry creates semi-abstract paintings of horses in oil and mixed media – watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink, conte crayon. The paintings under glass are mostly mixed media and her larger paintings are in oil. It’s obvious that she likes to play around with colors!
“Sam” was born in Chicago, but grew up in north central Arkansas. Her parents still live in Mountain Home, Arkansas. “Like many young girls, I was obsessed with horses. I dreamed about horses. I drew and painted them. I pored over books dedicated to them. Eventually, my weekly horseback riding lesson evolved into horse ownership.”
Sam grew up riding in rodeos, mainly barrel racing with some poles and goat tying. When she graduated from high school, she got a rodeo and an academic scholarship to Arkansas State University. “I thought I might be a vet[erinarian], which is what people expect of a person who loves animals,” she said. In college she did barrel racing on the rodeo scholarship. “Because I was a member of my university’s rodeo team, I was able to bring my horses to college with me,” she said.
Perhaps Sam’s talent has some genetic origins, as her grandmother was an artist. In college she took painting as an elective class for fun. “But I fell in love with art,” she said, “which was so much better than my biochemistry class.” She began to take more art classes and fewer animal science classes.
Breaking the news to her parents that she wanted to be an artist rather than a veterinarian was somewhat disconcerting. Her father was a financial planner, so he was a little nervous about the change. But her mother was very supportive and, in the end, both parents were supportive of her change to art.
So in 2001 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art. Her senior year in undergraduate school, she spent the summer in Italy studying fashion design and illustration. That experience still influences some of her work. “It was an incredible experience!” she said.
In 2004 she moved to Memphis, Tenn. and enrolled in the MFA program at the Memphis College of Art. She finished her Masters of Fine Art in 2006 and got a job at the Memphis College of Art, where she worked for several years.
She then got a second masters degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and gained employment in art education – as adjunct faculty at junior colleges, and at Germantown and Bolton High Schools. About a year and a half ago, she quit the teaching jobs to paint full time.
Now she lives in Germantown, where she has a studio in her home. She has one horse here and some horses at her parents’ home in Arkansas. She has done several painting projects, such as 100 horses in 100 days; this marked her second year doing this work. She also painted dog portraits for the Tunica Humane Society – 30 dogs in 30 days.
Her work will continue on display at the Little Studio on the Square through the summer. Most recently her work was shown at the 46th annual Tennessee Craft Fair in Nashville, Tenn.; at the 69th annual Germantown Charity Horse Show in Germantown, TN, and this fall, will be at the America’s Horse in Art Exhibition at the AQHA Museum in Amarillo, TX. (August 12 through October) She will have two shows in September and has an invitation to show in Augusta, Kentucky next summer.
Her paintings range in price from $150 for the smaller water colors to $4500 for the larger oil paintings. Find more information about her art work at www.samanthasherry.com and on facebook at Samantha Sherry Fine Art.
Visit Little Studio on the Square online at: www.littlestudioonthesquare.com
A new art studio has recently opened in Arlington, Tennessee – called the Little Studio on the Square. It’s located next to S.Y. Wilson’s store, and was once one of the original Wilson-owned buildings. Owned by Ashley Burns and her husband Paul, the grand opening was July 15, 2017. One of the first exhibitors at the Little Studio is Samantha Sherry, whose art you may have seen at the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June.
Samantha Sherry creates semi-abstract paintings of horses in oil and mixed media – watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink, conte crayon. The paintings under glass are mostly mixed media and her larger paintings are in oil. It’s obvious that she likes to play around with colors!
“Sam” was born in Chicago, but grew up in north central Arkansas. Her parents still live in Mountain Home, Arkansas. “Like many young girls, I was obsessed with horses. I dreamed about horses. I drew and painted them. I pored over books dedicated to them. Eventually, my weekly horseback riding lesson evolved into horse ownership.”
Sam grew up riding in rodeos, mainly barrel racing with some poles and goat tying. When she graduated from high school, she got a rodeo and an academic scholarship to Arkansas State University. “I thought I might be a vet[erinarian], which is what people expect of a person who loves animals,” she said. In college she did barrel racing on the rodeo scholarship. “Because I was a member of my university’s rodeo team, I was able to bring my horses to college with me,” she said.
Perhaps Sam’s talent has some genetic origins, as her grandmother was an artist. In college she took painting as an elective class for fun. “But I fell in love with art,” she said, “which was so much better than my biochemistry class.” She began to take more art classes and fewer animal science classes.
Breaking the news to her parents that she wanted to be an artist rather than a veterinarian was somewhat disconcerting. Her father was a financial planner, so he was a little nervous about the change. But her mother was very supportive and, in the end, both parents were supportive of her change to art.
So in 2001 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art. Her senior year in undergraduate school, she spent the summer in Italy studying fashion design and illustration. That experience still influences some of her work. “It was an incredible experience!” she said.
In 2004 she moved to Memphis, Tenn. and enrolled in the MFA program at the Memphis College of Art. She finished her Masters of Fine Art in 2006 and got a job at the Memphis College of Art, where she worked for several years.
She then got a second masters degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and gained employment in art education – as adjunct faculty at junior colleges, and at Germantown and Bolton High Schools. About a year and a half ago, she quit the teaching jobs to paint full time.
Now she lives in Germantown, where she has a studio in her home. She has one horse here and some horses at her parents’ home in Arkansas. She has done several painting projects, such as 100 horses in 100 days; this marked her second year doing this work. She also painted dog portraits for the Tunica Humane Society – 30 dogs in 30 days.
Her work will continue on display at the Little Studio on the Square through the summer. Most recently her work was shown at the 46th annual Tennessee Craft Fair in Nashville, Tenn.; at the 69th annual Germantown Charity Horse Show in Germantown, TN, and this fall, will be at the America’s Horse in Art Exhibition at the AQHA Museum in Amarillo, TX. (August 12 through October) She will have two shows in September and has an invitation to show in Augusta, Kentucky next summer.
Her paintings range in price from $150 for the smaller water colors to $4500 for the larger oil paintings. Find more information about her art work at www.samanthasherry.com and on facebook at Samantha Sherry Fine Art.
Visit Little Studio on the Square online at: www.littlestudioonthesquare.com
