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Printmaker, painter and draughtswoman Sherrie York is an accomplished artist with an international reputation for lyrical and expressive works on paper. The beauty and mysteries she discovers on her walks inspire York’s nature-focused linocuts. Her printmaker’s and designer’s eye is drawn to intricate flora, the behavior of birds, and patterns across land and seascapes. York lived in Salida, CO, the basis of much of her work, and moved to Maine, where new inspiration along the coastal waters piques her curiosity.
When I lived in Salida I had a regular “patch,” a 3.5-mile route that I walked several times a week. My patch included two small lakes, a section of the Arkansas River, a state fish hatchery, and a long stretch of open mesa top.
One of the lakes stays open all winter long, and many species of waterfowl congregate there in good numbers. I loved walking down the hill to the lake on winter mornings – the bird chatter growing as I approached – and I was always a little sad when spring arrived and most of the waterfowl dispersed to nesting grounds elsewhere.
When I moved to Maine I moved away from that patch, which was the inspiration for probably 85 percent of the images I had been making. I’ve yet to find a comparable lake patch here, but I’m learning to work with the broader patterns of ocean and seabirds.
Before I focused on a fine art practice I worked as a graphic designer, and from time to time I still undertake design projects for conservation organizations. My own aesthetic sensibilities are often drawn to strong graphic images, and many species of waterfowl have graphic plumage patterns. Goldeneye, Harlequin Ducks, Buffleheads, and Hooded Mergansers are favorites, and I have been known to assert that these species evolved mostly to provide printmakers with great subject matter. Of course water provides endless permutations of color and pattern to explore, so birds and water together are quite irresistible.
I am not much of a planner, which is clear to anyone who reads my blog, where I share the process and my thoughts along each step. I tend to just jump in to an image with an idea of where I’d like to go, but no real map for getting there. The initial inspiration for a piece always comes from long walks in nature with binoculars, sketchbook, and camera.
There is one part of the process that must be planned, however, and that is the composition. Once I get the first color printed on paper, I can not decide that the bird would be better a half inch to the right and move it. It’s too late! I can’t paint over it and move it.
I never really know how to describe how I decide on a composition, other than to say that I move the elements of photographic references and sketches and personal experience around until the composition feels right. And I do mean that literally. There’s a physical feeling of “rightness” when I arrive at a composition that I feel good about. As long as the major elements are in the right place, then I have room to experiment with color and value to get to the mood I want to convey. But the underlying structure has to be there before I ever roll the first ink color on to the block.
York’s work has been in many national and international exhibitions, including the juried Animalia 2016 exhibition and Colorado Governor’s Invitational exhibitions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 at the Loveland Museum, Loveland, CO; the 2016 and 2018 Coors Western Exhibition & Sale and Club Gallery in Denver, CO; the Art of the Animal Kingdom XX at The Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington VT.
Sherrie York’s work can also be found in corporate and museum collections including the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin and The John and Alice Forester Miniature Collection, Wausau, Wisconsin. She has participated in projects of the international Artists for Nature Foundation in Holland and Spain, and has been Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park and Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. She was Project Puffin’s Artist of the Year, Rockland, Maine, 2014, and Best in Show, Pressing Issues, Denver’s Month of Print, SLD, in 2014.
