In recognition of the Carson Valley Arts Council, we have selected a few outstanding artists to highlight. Each has a particular passion for Carson Valley and all the beauty, inspiration, culture, and history it represents.
Teri Sweeney is a watercolorist and oil landscape artist with an eye for detail. She spent her childhood in a rural community near Chicago. At an early age, she was fascinated by a portrait that her older, artistic cousin drew on a chalkboard in a basement playroom. After studying the drawing, she decided she too would like to be able to capture the likeness of human faces and began drawing portraits of celebrities featured on the covers of TV Guide. Just like that, an artist was born.
Teri later moved to Arizona, where she studied Interior Design at Arizona State University. She spent 35 years living and working in Phoenix, but it took a move to Carson Valley to spark her interest in painting Western subject matter. On her website she explains, “I can be inspired by the beauty of the light, the positioning of objects in a vista or just the feel and look of the atmosphere that is lending a sense of moodiness to the scene.”
Ridin’ Herd
Her style whispers the true nature and feel of Carson Valley, capturing the details which make it unique. “My love for detail in nature makes me want to share that love with others. I feel many of the nuances that occur in a landscape may be missed by some and I hope, through the way I portray an area, I can bring attention to them. I feel a piece has succeeded when I can walk away and say my work says what I meant to say and there is no possible way I could change it to state it any better. My goal is to send my messages in even clearer and more exciting ways in the future.”
Why Carson Valley
Teri and her husband came to visit their daughter in Carson Valley and left thinking about the open spaces, breathtaking views and the changing seasons – these things stuck with them so well that they packed their bags and moved on over. “As a landscape artist, the variety of scenery in and around (Carson Valley) was mind boggling and got my creative juices flowing. Deserts to the east, mountains and lakes to the west, as well as the ranches and vistas in the valley itself pretty much covered most scenarios a landscape artist is looking for,” says Teri.
Valley Spring
Teri has an awesome series on her website titled, “From My Window” where she paints the breathtaking view she witnesses from her home studio. “Of course, I have done many other paintings from the Carson Valley and surrounding areas, but what I love is no matter the time, the season, or where I go in the valley, there is always something to paint,” she says. “You can’t pick a more versatile area.”
Teri’s favorite piece is in the “From My Window” series because it “exemplifies the reason as an artist I want to live here. Literally, I can paint what I see from my studio and never have to leave if I didn’t want to.” The piece is a perfect representation of the iconic mountains Carson Valley is known for.
From My Window
Teri’s art has been accepted into such National Western shows as Cowgirl Up! in Wickenburg, Arizona; the Western Masters Show and Sale and the C.M. Russell Art Auction in Great Falls, Montana; the San Dimas Festival of the Arts in San Dimas, California; and the Settlers West American Miniature Show in Tucson, Arizona. Her work has been shown in galleries in South Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Kauai, Hawaii.
Teri will be one of the twenty-four artists featured in the 2021 Art Studio Tour on October 8th-10th. She is also part of the Sierra Nevada Invitational Art Show and Sale, taking place October 23rd-24th from 10am- 3pm at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center.
Be sure to check out more of Teri’s beautiful work on her website and peruse some samples below.
Fire In The Sky
Time Off
Genoa Bar – Study 1
Leaf Patterns I