Artist Statement

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INSPIRED BY HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND IMAGINATION

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Growing up in a rural area outside Columbus, Ohio, where neither family nor school placed value on art nor exposed her to art, Charlotte Shroyer was fortunate to chance upon art as a child during a summer vacation Bible school trip to the Columbus Museum of Art where she was intrigued by the work of George Bellows.   Ten years later in an elementary education methods class at The Ohio State University she took paint brush in hand for the first time.   In spite of her love for French, a B.A. in French
did not prepare her to make a living so she became a teacher.   After 20 years as a teacher and college professor, a Ph.D. in language and learning disorders, and years of art classes at major universities, the “art seed” finally took hold on a serendipitous trip to Taos, New Mexico.  

 

 “I am inspired by the world—its people, archaeology, and cultures. My favorite authors (i.e., Pamuk, Durrell, Pynchon, Vargas Llosa, et al), who explore duality of personality, what the individual shows to the world and what remains hidden to the world, influence what appears on my canvas. Through painting I tap into and expand the depths of my unconscious and a world unconscious that transcends individual and cultural boundaries.  

 

Painting becomes a visual and intellectual adventure influenced by my work with children and adults with limited language skills plus my love for the work of Picasso and the Ecuadoran artist Guayasamin.   Facial features take on exaggerated planes, colors, and lines leading to a finish so unanticipated at the start.”    

 

During her journey into art,  Shroyer took advantage of many art classes offered by individuals and universities.  She became inspired by the printmaking process after taking an etching class at the University of Maryland while a professor on the College Park campus.   This skill became the catalyst for producing and selling silk screened wearable art as well as for the monotypes she creates today.   While living in California,
a course in Navajo weaving taught by a Navajo from the reservation led her to produce her own designs using traditional Navajo weaving  techniques.  These designs became the catalyst for production of pillows sold commercially in the Southwest. 

 

Shroyer has received numerous national and international awards for her abstract and contemporary figurative oils and monotypes.  The American Juried Art Salon comprised of museum curators and directors named her as one of its 2013 Emerging Artists and as one of its emerging International Contemporary Artists, 2015.   Other awards include Outstanding Award for Recognition of Artistic Value, Bologna, Italy, 2015; 2nd Place, Graphics, 87th Annual International Juried Competition, Harrisburg, PA, 2015; First Place, Top Ten International Women in the Arts, Rome, Italy, 2011; Awards of Merit from Manhattan Arts International and  Richeson contests in portraiture
and Still Life and Abstract; Honorary Diploma, Berliner Art Prize, Berlin, Germany, 2016;, First place, mixed media, “Figuratively Speaking,” Art Association of Harrisburg, PA, 2017; First place, “Subjective,” Women’s Caucus for Art, New York City, 2017.

 

In addition to her artistic ventures, Shroyer is also a published author.  While living in Nevada she wrote a monthly art column for a small newspaper in Carson City.   A feature story about Navajo weaving published in an Albuquerque newspaper won her a San Francisco Best Feature award.

 

Shroyer lives, works, and is inspired by the land and people of Taos, New Mexico.  She is represented in Taos by Jackies Trading Post; and in Europe, by Trevisan International Art.