Local artist the main attraction at Valley of Fire State Park

Weinfurtner work in Visitor's Center Gallery

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As a child growing up in Kentucky, Cheryl Weinfurtner dreamed of being an artist and of living in the West. Both of those dreams have come true.

For the month of August, Weinfurtner, 46, will have her work featured at the Valley of Fire State Park Visitor's Center gallery. And for upcoming exhibits, she will be participating in the Tubac Festival of the Arts in Tubac, Ariz., and she also will be the featured gallery artist at Purcell Galleries of Fine Art for the month of March 2006, also in Tubac.

Weinfurtner, 46, is a a contemporary transparent watercolor artist. She primarily paints desert plants, which she only saw on television, before moving to Nevada.

"I had never left (Kentucky), so I knew the West mainly from spaghetti Westerns," Weinfurtner said.

Weinfurtner went to college to become a draftsman, which she worked as for roughly 15 years.

"I always wanted to be an artist, even as a little kid," she said. When Weinfurtner and her husband, Paul, took a vacation to the Sonoran Desert in 1992, her childhood dream was awakened.

"At that moment, with cactuses instantly swelling and blooming," she said. "I knew I had to teach myself to paint."

Weinfurtner began taking a few weekend art courses, reading how-to art books and jumped into it with her main focus on desert plant life, desert landscapes and close-ups of desert flowers.

"I started painting in 1992 and I set a 10-year plan for myself," she said. "In 2002, I started thinking that I would have to set another goal and plan." But that wasn't necessary. In November 2002, Weinfurtner's paintings were shown in a gallery in Tubac. Since that showing, Weinfurtner's work has been gaining its audience.

Weinfurtner uses watercolor paints, which are transparent rather than opaque and very diluted. She paints on hefty watercolor paper, comparable to the thickness of poster board. She does not use white paint, so she must carefully preserve white areas she intends on using. Also, because of the paints' transparency, to obtain a dark color Weinfurtner layers colors on as many times as needed to reach the desired shade.

"Sometimes that can mean adding about 80 layers," she said.

The main reason artists use transparent watercolors is because light passes through the paper, reflects back to the viewer, and creates a luminous effect, she said.

Some of Weinfurtner's paintings are reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's work, since both have a talent for enlarged, vibrant flowers.

One thing that Weinfurtner does to keep the color schemes of her art updated is going shopping. Weinfurtner said that while she was employed in the baby department at a Ralph Lauren clothing store, she picked up on a few things that come in handy now.

"If you look at colors that are popular in clothing today, they will pop up in home furnishings in a couple of years," she said. "For example, browns and oranges are popular now. In a year or two, people will have those colors in their furniture. So, colors that I see when I'm shopping, I work into my art."

Without the support of her husband and several of her mentors, teachers and peers, Weinfurtner said she would have given up on her dream.

"Without them I couldn't have done it," she said. And the artist that provides her with the most inspiration is Thomas Moran, remembered for his paintings of stunning landscapes, which include a Western period where many were painted in the Grand Canyon.

"While I was pushing a pencil as a draftsman, I was dreaming of Thomas Moran," she said. "I was very inspired by him."

Brent Land, the gallery director at Purcell Galleries of Fine Art, said he is amazed how quickly Weinfurtner developed as an artist.

"I've really seen her grow into quite the artist," he said. "Her work is just great. Everyone who walks in stops and says, 'Wow.' You can really see her passion and drive she has for her art in her work."

Weinfurtner's exhibit at the Visitor's Center Gallery at Valley of Fire State Park will be on display and available for purchase through the end of this month. The state park, accessible from exit 75 from Interstate 15, is located about 55 miles northeast of the city, approximately 10 miles from Lake Mead. The Visitor's Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. The exhibit and informational videos are free, but there is a $6 per vehicle entrance fee.