We recently connected with Madeline Sherry and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Madeline, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

It all began when i was in New York visiting my mother. I made a habit of checking out as many Art Galleries and museums as possible. i used New York Magazine as my guide to what’s hot in the art world. my visit to David Zwimer in Chelsea was an eye opener. All oversized canvasses of figure work . All sold opening nuight and the least expensive was $500,000. It was 2008 in a terrible financial crisis. I was in awe! At that moment i decided to find out as much as I could about the Artist, Neo Rauch. I found comparisons between Neo Rauch and my own upbringing. We were both impacted by the use of propaganda. I collected old magazine photos from the 1940’s and 50’s. I appropriated these images into my paintings. It was a time when women had little career opportunities, the double standard was the norm, the McCarthy hears and with hunt for communists was in full swing and advertising was used to keep the public in line promoting new products ,glamour and wealth. In some paintings i juxtaposed modern images to emphasize the social inequities of the post world war II era.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I came from a family of creatives. My father and grandfather were professional musicians. My mother was a gifted pianist and on her side we have musicians and actors. My sister sang and acted. My dream was to become a ballerina but my parents feared i would fail and guided me to a career in teaching and as a homemaker for my future husband. It was the1950’s and girls was thought to be there only to support a man who would provide for her. I enjoyed teaching and pursued art in evening classes at Parsons school of design and The New School. i toolk book writing and advertising illustration.
i think i am most proud of my paintings when I capture the personality of the subject or their mood. Pictures telling a story. I do portrait commissions and all my collectors are so pleased with their image because i capture their look, eyes, smile, etc.
One collector wanted her portrait done in a gondola in Venice. She had no photos of this. I pieced together the portrait from digital images of the Venice Canal and gondola and slipped her image into the boat. She was thrilled. it is very gratifying to make people happy.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am striving to support myself solely by the sale of my paintings and portrait commissions.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Just yesterday, I was told about affordable housing for artists. Unfortunately when iI called I was told that their master list closed one year ago and if I was not on it then I was too late to be added.

Housing in San Diego has become so expensive unless you own your own home. After 50 years of living in San Diego, I am close to being driven out by these increasingly high rents.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.madelinesherrypaintings.com
• Instagram: Madeline Sherry
• Facebook: Madeline Sherry
• Linkedin: San Diego Artist
• Twitter: Madeline Sherry
• Youtube: Madeline Sherry

Image Credits
all images belong to Madeline Sherry