About Me
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I began my love of photography as a young child. My father was a photography enthusiast and I became enthralled with the idea of capturing a story through images when he would photograph me as I would tell him stories that I would make up – you could almost see the imaginary worlds through his lens in my facial expressions. I was hooked. Telling stories through my lens has become the hallmark of my creative process, be it in a series of images or in a single landscape. My choice in subjects for my art is often greatly influenced by my health and my need to social distance, even long before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2016, I was finally diagnosed with a genetic immunodeficiency called Common Variable Immunodeficiency. Photography became my creative outlet for meditative healing. Much of my landscape work seeks to tell the story of calmness and serenity as I envision it while allowing me to photograph in an environment that is safe for my immune system. My art is recognizable through the detail, story and my love of all things technology to bring the image alive.
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BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1975 in Hammond, Indiana, Beth Sheridan had a humble beginning to life, homeless and quickly removed by the state into foster care, she now resides outside Houston, Texas working as both an aerospace engineer and photographer. She was adopted into a family where her father’s love of photography quickly began to influence her artistic eye.
Sheridan has studied under many known-names in the photographic community including Nevada Weir, Joel Grimes, Michael Sebastian, Michael Clark, David Black, Scott Kelby, Nicole S. Young, and Rene Johnson just to name a few. Beth Sheridan has also studied under some of NASA’s top photographers; it is their role to both capture the technical work of the agency as well as to teach our nation’s astronauts how to document the earth during their tours on the International Space Station.
In 2016, after a life-long battle with chronic illnesses that had manifested as everything from severe upper respiratory illness and hospitalizations, surgeries on her legs and ankles and even cervical cancer Sheridan was finally diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency disorder called Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID). This deficiency is related to “Bubble Boy Syndrome” though not as severe. Sheridan has found photography to be her healing meditation for much of her life and feels that without both her engineering side and her artistic side, she cannot be whole.
Employing a variety of techniques inspired by her engineering education, Sheridan explores photographic themes ranging from cultural identity, to tradition and heritage, to place and light. Her diverse works encompass digitally manipulated landscapes and narrative documentaries to still-life executed in a variety of styles, including painterly, color photography, and abstract.
Though best known for her detailed, and life-like, landscapes, Sheridan first made her artistic debut in the 2010s with an award-winning series of documentary-style photographs on women at work in Nepal. These early works featured a group of women on the banks of a crocodile-infested Nepalese river carrying grasses and reeds, back to their villages. This series was important to Sheridan as she was there speaking to students about science, technology, engineering and math. This was a time when Nepal was fighting for constitutional rights for women’s education. To see these women working in perilous conditions was a stark juxtaposition to the argument Nepal’s government was undergoing on women’s educational rights. Sheridan continues to intrigue her fans with meticulously crafted works inspired by current events and seen through the lens of an artist/engineer’s eye with topical documentary art as well as landscapes that tell the story of life as she sees it.
MY PRINTING PROCESS
As a rocket scientist, you can imagine exacting detail and unsurpassed quality is in my blood. All my images are digitally captured with the highest quality professional digital SLR cameras and lenses.
To create my printed artwork, I use only the best in fine art laboratories. My computer is color calibrated to match the printing profile of my laboratory to ensure the most accurate results possible. I review all work before it's released to my collectors and I maintain the strictest standards for printing my work.
If the photograph is to be printed on paper, I use only Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta - the best fine art paper available, in my humble opinion.
According to Hahnemühle, "Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta is a bright white, cellulose-based fine art inkjet paper with an inkjet coating specially tailored for fine art use. The clearly visible, exquisite felt structure lends the paper its lovely soft feel and tactile surface texture to produce prints with a stunning three-dimensional quality and depth. The high-gloss premium inkjet coating guarantees outstanding print results with perfect reproduction of color and detail, deep blacks and striking contrasts. The barium sulphate within the coating gives FineArt Baryta the feel of a traditional analogue baryta paper. The acid- and lignin-free fine art inkjet paper meets the most exacting requirements for age resistance. FineArt Baryta is a versatile classic for fine art applications and sets standards in the printing of both black and white and color photographs."
My laboratory only prints on the best acrylics and metals. They also use only archival inks. These materials ensure the best life and lasting value of your investment.
Care should be taken, not to expose the image to high levels of moisture or sunlight. The print should be treated as an original fine art watercolor painting. Choosing a location having normal humidity levels and minimum exposure to ultra violet light will provide many years of pleasurable viewing.
EXHIBITIONS, AWARDS & MORE
List is not exhaustive.
2021
3/22/2021: Artsy Shark Featured Artist
2/27/2021 - 04/18/2021: Western Show, DAB Art Gallery
2/01/2021 - Present: Non-Exclusive Representation, Art Machine Gallery
2/01/2021 - 02/01/2022: Featured Artist, Healing Power of Art and Artists
1/01/2021 - Present: Non-Exclusive Representation - Art Licensing.com
1/01/2021 - Present: Non-Exclusive Representation - Tate & Co Licensing
10/15/2020 - 10/14/2021: Featured Artist - Camelback Gallery
1/01/2020 - Present: Non-Exclusive Representation - Affair d'Art, Galveston, TX
2020
10/15/2020 - 12/01/2020: Corporate Connections, Maryland Federation of Art, Online
9/04/2020 - 11/04/2020: Spirit of Resilience, Healing Power of Art and Artists, Online, Award of Excellence
9/04/2020 - 10/02/2020: 2020 National Fine Art Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO
9/02/2020 - 09/24/2020: September Group Art Show, Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO
8/18/2020 - 10/14/2020: Celebration of Art 2020 - An All Media Show, Marin Society of Artists, Online
Fall 2020: WPE International, 2020 Second Half Competition, Landscape, Online Silver Badge
1/01/2020 - Present: Non-Exclusive Representation - Affair d'Art, Galveston, TX
Previous
Houston Bay-Area Juried Exhibition - UHCL, Houston, TX
The Big Show - Lawndale Arts Center, Houston, TX
Representation by Saphira and Ventura with Exhibitions in New York, NY and Paris, France
Publications
Beth Sheridan. “No, Your Photo Is Not Art.” Medium, 3 Mar. 2020, blog.usejournal.com/no-your-photo-is-not-art-7145bc384292. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“Beth Sheridan’s Photography Helps People Find Grace and Serenity in These Troubled Times.” The US News, Midwest Radio Network, 16 Aug. 2020, www.theusnews.com/newsr/10569. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
Brown, Richard. “The Power of Art Healing: How Art Helped Photographer Beth Sheridan Overcome Her Difficulties in Life.” The American Reporter, 14 Aug. 2020, www.theamericanreporter.com/the-power-of-art-healing-how-art-helped-photographer-beth-sheridan-overcome-her-difficulties-in-life/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
Harley, James. “Beth Sheridan: Inside the Journey of the Rocket-Engineer-Photographer of Grace Fine Art Photography.” LA Wire, 13 Aug. 2020, lawire.com/beth-sheridan-inside-the-journey-of-the-rocket-engineer-photographer-of-grace-fine-art-photography/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
James, Jennifer. “UHCL Exhibit Spotlights Local Artists.” Houston Chronicle, 1 June 2016, www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/UHCL-exhibit-spotlights-local-artists-7957116.php. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
Koch, Boris. “Aerospace Engineer and Photographer Beth Sheridan Bags the 2nd Half 2020 WPE International Photography Competition Silver Badge.” New York Weekly, 13 Aug. 2020, nyweekly.com/business/aerospace-engineer-and-photographer-beth-sheridan-bags-the-2nd-half-2020-wpe-international-photography-competition-silver-badge/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
Sheridan, Beth. “Art and Healing In Uncertain Times.” Medium, 17 Mar. 2020, blog.usejournal.com/art-and-healing-in-uncertain-times-beth-sheridan-9756c41396e8. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“From Building Rockets to Selling Art.” Medium, 23 Mar. 2020, medium.com/datadriveninvestor/from-building-rockets-to-selling-art-business-startup-lessons-7453013273f4. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“It’s Not Your Art Anymore.” Medium, 15 Mar. 2020, blog.usejournal.com/its-not-your-art-anymore-bybethsheridan-822a50cf5e6f. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“Photography’s Dirty Little Secret.” Medium, 29 Mar. 2020, blog.usejournal.com/photographys-dirty-little-secret-2f348280ae64. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“Simple Home Project Can Change Your World.” Medium, 20 May 2020, medium.com/the-smarter-home/simple-home-project-can-change-your-world-gfap-fe0eed7a7522. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“There Is No Silver Bullet In Art Marketing.” Medium, 11 May 2020, medium.com/datadriveninvestor/there-is-no-silver-bullet-in-art-marketing-startup-advice-46c10d13f57a. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
“Why Art As an Investment Now.” Medium, 30 Mar. 2020, medium.com/datadriveninvestor/why-art-as-an-investment-now-e4dba7acd622. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
Wrigley, Sean. “Meet Beth Sheridan, the Artist Behind Grace Fine Art Photography Who Brings More Than Just Images to Her Audience.” New York Wire, 14 Aug. 2020, nywire.com/meet-beth-sheridan-the-artist-behind-grace-fine-art-photography-who-brings-more-than-just-images-to-her-audience/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.
What I Value
- It matters to me that my art connects people to nature in a healing way. -
- It matters to me that my art is valuable to my collectors. -
- It matters to me that I have integrity and honesty in my work.
- It matters to me that I mean what I say and say what I mean. -
- It matters to me to support nature conservation.
A portion of my sales is donated to the Audubon Society and Ducks Unlimited. -