Aaron Schuerr
ART AND INEFFIBILTY
My art is borne out of my struggle to absorb, comprehend, and understand the natural world. I’m overwhelmed, and yet I can’t tear myself away. And so I paint, so as to stand there for just a little longer. And then I return to the studio and paint something bigger, in order to digest what I’ve experienced while painting in the field. Then I take that frightening step: I invite the viewer to add his or her own story to it. At the sight of a beautiful sunset we instinctively turn to the person next to us, be it friend or stranger, to see if they are looking too. If they are, we feel a kinship with them. No two people experience a sunset in the same way, and yet we can experience it together. Though painting is largely a solitary endeavor, it is never a lonely one, because I am invited to share in the ineffable mystery of beauty. And that is where the art is.
Briefly, I am an artist, writer, actor, husband, and father of three wonderful boys. It all gets mixed up until the distinctions are blurred, as they should be. The heart of my work is in the outdoors, absorbing the pattern of light on the landscape. Actors speak of “being in the moment” immersing themselves so totally in story that everything else falls away. The open air is my stage, and in the best moments, I am lost in it. I have no desire to impress you with these paintings. Rather, I strive to share my experience with honesty and without fear.
Membership
Pastel Society of America, Signature Member
American Impressionist Society, Signature Member
West Coast Pastel Society, Signature Member
Recent Awards and Honors
2016 Best Pastel, Plein Air Magazine’s Plein Air Salon
2015 First place, Pastel Society of the West Coast Membership Show
2015 First place, 11th Annual Mile High International Exhibition
2013 Award of Excellence, American Impressionist Society
2013 Plein Air Magazine Juror’s Choice Award for America’s Parks through the Beauty of Art
2013 First Place for the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100
2012 Third Place in Plein Air Magazine’s “Plein Air Salon
2011 “Best Quick Draw” Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painter Show
2010 Gold Medal for the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100
2005 Gold Medal for the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100, First Place in the landscape category
Selected Shows and Exhibitions
2017 26th Annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils
2017 Landscape Show, Howard/Mandville Gallery
2016 17th Annual American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition
2016 25th Annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils
2016 28th Annual Juried Exhibition, International Association of Pastel Societies
2015 Instructor, exhibitor for the IAPS Convention
