Artist Statement
"The eye sees a thing more clearly in Dreams than the imagination awake." Leonardo da Vinci
The Dreamscapes Series was inspired by a trip to the Mediterranean coastal towns of Spain. I found that photgraphing in the impressionistic style causes the viewer to see the entire image with its palette of colors, form and light creating a mood, an emotion. The Dreamscapes: Beach Series were photographed along the Southeast coast of Florida. My latest work Dreamscapes: Far & Away was photographed along the coasts of Santa Monica and Venice beaches in California. I wanted to put into perspective, the power and infinite expanse of the sand, sea and sky and the part we humans play in this story.
"Cheryl Maeder is one of those rare talents that seems to effortlessly combine painting and photography into an engaging visual statement. She balances realism with a soft-focused whisper of faded color, creating her works with a sprinkle of magic that leaves the viewer in a dreamy state. Part color field painter, part impressionist and part abstractionist, Maeder allows us to bring back our own nebulous memories of people and places through her photo postcard-like compositions, which are pushed to the edge of recognizability." Bruce Helander is an artist and contributor to Art News Magazine.