29 Dec Illuminations: Ones to Watch

Charles Schridde records pure exhilaration in paint. His out-of-the-box color choices emphasize the immediacy of life, with an acute emotional impact of the subjects he paints. Schridde doesn’t paint images, he conveys moments. His attention to detail brings the dust of a rodeo to the mouth of reality, the hot sun of a desert day into the eyes of substance. 

Coming from an esteemed career as a commercial illustrator and photographer, Schridde knows well the effects of dramatic light, color and movement. With brilliant technique and inspiring interpretation, Schridde portrays the West in all its brunt and glory.

His work resides in the collections of the Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Georgia; Carol Legg, Phoenix, Arizona; the McGrew Ranch, St. Jo, Texas; Kim and Curt Pence, Salem, Oregon; Tom Synder, Indian River, Michigan; and Bob Tyndall, Las Vegas, Nevada. Juried paintings have sold in such noted auctions as The Professional Bull Riders Association Auction, C. M. Russell Auction, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Auction, Santa Fe Art Auction, Western Artists of America Show and Sale and the Open Range Auction.

He has garnered awards for “Best Bull” medal for oil painting Van Gogh Bull, PRCA, San Francisco (the painting was later purchased by the Booth Museum in Georgia); National-Best Western Fair Poster; Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival: 3rd Place; Palm Springs Desert Museum, Artists Council Exhibition: 2nd Place; Palm Springs Desert Museum, Artists Council Exhibition: People’s Choice; and in September, 2009, he was named “Artist of the Month” from Scottsdale Artists League, Scottsdale, Arizona.