Cheryl Oblinski Nickerson
Trained in both brushwork and palette knife techniques, Cheryl Oblinski Nickerson studied classical Atelier traditions along with Bargue drawing and painting methods. Over the years, she has shared this knowledge through teaching, specializing in realism and guiding students in the pursuit of capturing life on canvas.
Since 1990, she has created and sold paintings and commissions across a wide range of subjects—portraiture, still life, landscapes, and wildlife. Each work is a journey into the nuances of light, form, and emotion.
Her approach to painting is rooted in realism, yet it moves beyond simple photographic likeness. Through the layering of tones and the play of light, Cheryl strives to capture something deeper—an essence. Each painting begins by observing life without expectation, then visually unfolding the story on canvas. Viewers are invited to step into the scene, sharing in the presence and experience as it comes alive before them.
In the early years, Cheryl pursued accuracy and likeness on canvas. But decades of teaching revealed something more: the moments when students truly connected with their work weren’t always when it looked perfectly real, but when it felt familiar—like a sense of coming home. That realization reshaped their artistic journey and hers. By exploring the layered qualities of light and colour, Cheryl discovered how presence emerges from the canvas, giving two-dimensional images an almost four-dimensional quality.
And that is where her work now lives—between likeness and essence, between realism and presence. Each painting, in its own way, is an invitation home.