Painting with kids in Nagu and Korpo

Author:

Chris Sheridan

Website:

www.sheridanart.com

Bio:

I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration at The Ringling College of Art and Design in 1999, followed by a Master’s degree in painting at the Academy of Art University in 2003.

I’m an award-winning artist and have shown my work both nationally and internationally, including shows in Finland and Morocco. I’m currently represented by the Seattle Art Museum Gallery. In 2014, I participated in my first artist’s residency in Vienna, Austria, that culminated in a solo show there at Mo.ë. In the winter of 2019, I returned from a two-month residency at AARK in Korpo, Finland. Based on the work completed while there, I was awarded the “Solo Show Award” from the Royal Nebeker Art Gallery in Astoria, OR, and exhibited a new collection of over 30 paintings tittle “Rediscovering”

Social Networks:

My residency at AARK has been filled with opportunities for community engagement with the locals. This week for example, I had the privilege of attending my friend Jan’s art classes with Art-Dur Musik- och Bildkonstskola, one in Nagu the other in Korpo, and painting with the kids. They aged in range from 9-14 years old, they were great kids, absolutely hilarious, and a joy to work with. It was the last class before their summer break, and yet they were all ears, had a genuine interest in what I was saying, and were ready to paint. We actually did these paintings in about 40 minutes working from the same reference, and it gave me such pleasure to watch them working their way through them. Along the way, we shared all kinds of stories, and an abundance of laughs (the wit of these kids far surpassed their years, perhaps the language too 😆).

This is just one example of what has made my stay at AARK Archipelago Art Residency in Korpo so amazing.