Prepare to embark on a vibrant journey through the life and artwork of Cherie Blickenstaff, a cherished local artist from Palm Beach County. I promise you'll find inspiration as she shares her transition from a child artist to an advertising professional, and eventually, a full-time painter. Cherie didn't let the pandemic stop her passion, as she adapted to teaching art classes over Zoom, opening up a world of creativity for many. Savour the warmth of her favorite tropical themes as she guides us through her favorite medium - acrylic painting on canvas, giving us an insight into the creation of her mesmerizing piece, 'Maui Memories'.
In the latter part of our conversation, Cherie opens the doors to the thriving art community in Palm Beach County. She emphasizes the importance of supporting local artists in these turbulent times and provides details on how you can get involved in the upcoming local art shows. She recalls her contributions to events like the 'Place of Hope' as a pop-up store, a testament to her commitment to her community. If you've ever contemplated commissioning a piece, Cherie walks us through her process, skillfully blending her love for the local coastal environment with her artistic flair. This episode is your passport to the colorful world of a local artist, celebrating creativity, and embracing community spirit.
Prepare to embark on a vibrant journey through the life and artwork of Cherie Blickenstaff, a cherished local artist from Palm Beach County. I promise you'll find inspiration as she shares her transition from a child artist to an advertising professional, and eventually, a full-time painter. Cherie didn't let the pandemic stop her passion, as she adapted to teaching art classes over Zoom, opening up a world of creativity for many. Savour the warmth of her favorite tropical themes as she guides us through her favorite medium - acrylic painting on canvas, giving us an insight into the creation of her mesmerizing piece, 'Maui Memories'.
In the latter part of our conversation, Cherie opens the doors to the thriving art community in Palm Beach County. She emphasizes the importance of supporting local artists in these turbulent times and provides details on how you can get involved in the upcoming local art shows. She recalls her contributions to events like the 'Place of Hope' as a pop-up store, a testament to her commitment to her community. If you've ever contemplated commissioning a piece, Cherie walks us through her process, skillfully blending her love for the local coastal environment with her artistic flair. This episode is your passport to the colorful world of a local artist, celebrating creativity, and embracing community spirit.
We are back, for I Love Palm Beach, and today we have a special guest, cherie Blickenstaff, and I think I did pretty good with that name.
Speaker 2:You did.
Speaker 1:OK, good, and she is a local artist. If people don't know, palm Beach County has a wide variety of art. There's a larger art senior than you would think there would be. A lot of. it is coastal and tropical. We have a lot of photography, a lot of fine art, some interesting museums. But Cherie's got a company called Tropical Impression, and why don't you first tell us how you ended up in Palm Beach County and we'll go for there?
Speaker 2:OK, well, i grew up in Fort Pierce, which is about an hour north of where I am now, in Jupiter, and after college I came to Palm Beach County in search of a job. So I moved here in my early 20s and have been here most of the time since then, other than a few stints here and there where my husband was on temporary assignments somewhere else.
Speaker 1:OK, so we have a real local here with us today. Yeah, a real Floridian born and raised. Huh.
Speaker 2:Not born but raised. I was nine months old when I moved to Florida.
Speaker 1:OK, close enough, We'll give you that one. Ok, and have you always been an artist? Did you have another career and then you got into this?
Speaker 2:No, I was always an artist, even as a child. Recently we pulled down paneling in my father's house after he passed because we were selling it And there were still paintings on the wall underneath the paneling that I had done when I was a small kid.
Speaker 1:Wow, that is wonderful. I hope you took some pictures of that. You know I didn't.
Speaker 2:I wish I had Oh.
Speaker 1:Well, tell us about your career in the art field, and then we'll get into what you're actually working on now.
Speaker 2:I actually went to school at Florida State University and got a BFA in visual communications, which I didn't do a lot of painting or anything like that in college. It was mostly geared towards advertising and graphic design. So after school I got a job at an ad agency and worked there for many, many years Several agencies actually And then one of the jobs that I was at the company was going out of business And so I decided to kind of break out on my own and do my own art And I started doing outdoor shows like Sunfest and Jupiter.
Speaker 2:Art Fest by the Sea and lots and lots of local shows, and I made a living at that for quite a while. And then, after I got married at the age of 38, and we bought a house and life got in the way, i had to get a real job.
Speaker 2:I spent 20 years behind a desk, and during COVID I was offered an early retirement package from my job out at Pratt Whitney And I took it. So OK, now COVID's going on, there's not a whole lot to do, and so I decided to start doing art classes over Zoom.
Speaker 2:So I just set up on Facebook and a bunch of ladies from all over the country joined in with me And we did art classes over Zoom every Saturday morning and then sometimes a few times during the week. So that started on teaching art And then, once the shows started coming back, i started painting again and started doing the local art shows again.
Speaker 1:Well, that's quite a story, And I love how you just jumped on the Zoom and started teaching again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yep, had never done Zoom before, had never talked before, but I loved it And it worked out well And I continued. I'm teaching today too. I have several. After COVID was almost over, i started teaching out of my home studio, which this is it. It's actually a converted garage. So I started teaching here and painting classes, epoxy resin classes, jewelry classes. And just recently I've started teaching at several local places over at Boogie Bath Cottage, where I have a lot of my artwork, and at the new studio for the visual arts in DeQuesta, and I teach there. about once a month I do a beginner's acrylic class.
Speaker 1:What is your favorite medium to work in? What are most of your paintings?
Speaker 2:Most of what I use now is regular acrylic painting on canvas.
Speaker 1:Okay, What do you call your style?
Speaker 2:coastal or More tropical, even though I do quite a bit of coastal stuff too. but a lot of what people call coastal these days is more pastelly and mine is brighter. Okay, so I see the different. Yeah, I do ocean stuff, But usually I would call it more tropical than coastal.
Speaker 1:So I see some paintings in the background. Would you like to comment and give us a story on any of those?
Speaker 2:Sure, The one in the upper right hand corner.
Speaker 1:That's gorgeous.
Speaker 2:I can bring closer. That's what I use on my business card.
Speaker 1:That is gorgeous, very vibrant.
Speaker 2:It's called Maui Memories and it was actually a class I taught over Zoom. a bunch of ladies and I did the same painting and it took us maybe two months to do. We did it on Saturday mornings, So we did little portions each week.
Speaker 1:So the ladies all buy their own acrylic paint and an easel. Yeah, we just work on it together.
Speaker 2:Right When we did it over. Zoom. That's how we did it.
Speaker 1:Did you actually get to go to Maui? Is that where your inspiration came from?
Speaker 2:I have been to Maui a few times and I got to go again last year. One of my students from my Zoom classes has a condo over there and she invited me to go along with her, so I got to go over there two weeks, And did you do some painting when you were there?
Speaker 1:I hope.
Speaker 2:We did, we did Out on the little veranda off of our condo balcony.
Speaker 1:Very nice. So then I'm looking. I'm seeing some beloved turtles down there. Are you inspired by the turtles? We have such large nesting beaches here.
Speaker 2:Right, yes, I love turtles And I'm also a scuba diver, And I was inspired by a trip we had taken to Grand Cayman and we were diving And while we were on the dive, this young turtle swam up to a group of four of us and he went. We all kind of stopped and hovered And he went up to each of us and peaked right in the mask of each of us. Oh, that's amazing. And then when we swam off, he swam off with us and followed us for a good 15 or 20 minutes And I found that very inspiring.
Speaker 1:I know one of my first dive trips when I moved to Florida about I don't know, i don't know if I've been here 13 years, 14 years but I saw a large green sea turtle and it really caused me to actually volunteer at loggerhead for a little while. I was there for three years. I just couldn't believe how magnificent the creature was. So we live in a very special place And yes, we do. And then I'm looking behind you, i guess off your left shoulder, and is that the Jupiter lighthouse?
Speaker 2:It is. It's the Jupiter lighthouse at night, as viewed from the square grouper. Let me show you that one.
Speaker 1:That is really pretty. I'm so used to seeing it with the sunset, with different colorings. I love the blues.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i have done other versions of it in the daytime And. But did you set up?
Speaker 1:with the grouper? Did you take a photograph and go back and paint it?
Speaker 2:A friend of mine took the photo at the grouper and I asked her if I could use it as a reference and I kind of painted from her photo and then I gave her a copy of the painting.
Speaker 1:Oh wonderful, let me use it When you sell your paintings. Do you make everything custom or will you tell me about how you work your business?
Speaker 2:I mostly paint what I like to paint and then sell it, but I also do custom work and I'm open to commissions. I've done several.
Speaker 1:And what about any of the other things you're working on? I said you've gotten involved in resin and jewelry.
Speaker 2:Let's see, here's a resin piece.
Speaker 1:That's really cool.
Speaker 2:This one is of a sea turtle.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:So it's resin on wood.
Speaker 1:And just for the people that are listening on audio, it's a big, large round resin plate with the turtle and fish on top of it. We often post this on YouTube, so if you're listening on audio, you can also go on YouTube. Sometimes things are visual and it's nice to look at it on YouTube also. So you've got jellyfish, some coral, some other fish, the bottom of the sea, and you've got a lot of other things that you can do. So you can do that And you can also do that, and you can also do that.
Speaker 2:So it's really really beautiful, and would somebody just hang that as a plaque on their wall.
Speaker 2:This would not be a good tray or anything, right? No, it's a 3D. Everything stands up, right? It wouldn't be good for a tray, even though I do do trays. This is just something to hang on a wall, okay. And then here's a painting that I'm going to be using it. I'm going to be using it. I'm going to be using it Painting as a class This past On Saturday, and this is going to going to be used in a silent auction In July. Over at bougie bath cottage.
Speaker 1:We're going to be raising funds for a local charity, which we haven't determined which charity yet, but I would love to join you on that And I'm going to be using it for a while And the charity is going to be supporting our charity for place of hope on July 23rd And she's going to have a whole set up there be selling stuff.
Speaker 2:And you're also going to give us a silent auction item. Do you have?
Speaker 1:something to give us.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, I had not. I Determined what it is. You know what I forgot to get it out, I can send you a photo later though, if you want to. I think, I will give a small framed. you know what? No, I have an idea, I'll give you.
Speaker 1:She's just stepping out, just looking to get.
Speaker 2:Marie was not totally prepared. This is a painting of the Jupiter lighthouse on a Santorini stone.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Which is a piece of tumble marble from Greece.
Speaker 1:Oh, that is gorgeous.
Speaker 2:I will donate this to your silent auction.
Speaker 1:Okay, so anybody that's interested in this piece, you're going to have to join us for the event. It's $49 for a ticket. We're going to have just a few special pop-ups to our vendors there Music, eating, tacos, drinks. We're going to have a tarot card reader, somebody giving us rum samples, so it'll be a lot of fun. But let's hear about some of your classes so people can find out where they can take some classes also.
Speaker 2:Okay, i do a lot of classes out of bougie bath cottage and they have a Facebook page So all of the classes are posted on there So anyone can join. Okay, bye, that was my husband leaving for lunch. My husband And then also the new studio for the visual arts where I teach also has a Facebook page and they always post my classes on there too. As well as many other local artists.
Speaker 1:Okay, and do you have a Facebook page? Is there somewhere we can follow along to see where you're going to be at all time?
Speaker 2:Yes, tropical Impressions is the name of my Facebook page, but it's the group. There is another page in there that I accidentally created and has nothing on it. So the Tropical Impressions group. You have to request to join And it just asks how did you hear about Tropical Impressions? So anyone can get in.
Speaker 1:Well, I'd love to get some people together and come and take class. It'd be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do a lot of like paint and sip. Ladies get together classes either at my studio or I go to them. Maybe at a recreation center, at somebody's condo, okay.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, what else would you like to share about your business that you would like to talk about to the people of Palm Beach County, or people of thinking about moving here would like to learn more? What would you like to comment on?
Speaker 2:Um, it would be great if people would support our local artists. There are many of us around over at Boogie Bath Cottage. There's over 70 local artists, craftsmen and vendors. There's a lot of home decor, so anybody moving to the area it would be a great place to go over and take a look at their artwork. And it's also a great place for just gift shopping. Okay, and support local artists at your local art shows. There are many, many, many during the season right now, summer, so it's slow, but when season starts back up in the fall and there will be lots of local art shows. So come on out and support us all.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, thank you, Sherry, for being with us here today. We were trying to do this yesterday and we had a few little zoom issues. Not sure what happened, But I'm so excited for you to be at our event. I'm hoping to join you at the Boogie Bath event also Awesome And to be in class soon. So if anybody would like to reach Sherry, do you have a phone number or an email you'd like to put out there?
Speaker 2:My email is SherryBlick at bellcellnet and it's C-H-E-R-I-E-B-L-I-C-K at bellcellnet, or my cell is 561-512-9274. Feel free to text me.
Speaker 1:Okay, that sounds wonderful And we look forward to you being one of our pop-up stores at the Place of Hope event.
Speaker 2:Looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:You have a wonderful day.