‘Make art, I will’: Cheryl ‘Chia’ Follansbee’s art featured at Frame and Art Center in March

“Art and all the things associated with it has been my passion as soon as I colored my mother’s wall with the box of crayons she handed me when I was a child,” said Las Cruces artist Cheryl “Chia” Follansbee.

Follansbee is the featured artist for March at The Frame & Art Center, 1100 S. Main St.

Follansbee said her mother “might have been perplexed by my style, but she continued supporting my early artistic endeavors and encouraged my experiments with all the materials associated with it. I knew early on that I was going to be happy making art and beautiful things. So, I dabbled in anything I could get my hands on. I painted and sold my paintings to all my indulgent uncles and aunts, and eventually I sold some to their friends.”

After graduating from high school, Follansbee pursued a career in interior design “because it encompassed a lot of artistic practice, and I was not going to be bored,” she said. “I still painted sporadically but work was taking a toll on my art. Life carried on, and soon, painting was left on the wayside.”

After meeting her husband, Mike, Follansbee said she “was inspired to make art again.”

“I can say he brought out the best in me,” she said.

The two have collaborated on woodworking and home decoration projects, she said, and from time to time, Mike’s “hidden artistic elf rears his head and shows me how gifted he is too.”

The couple moved to Las Cruces after Mike’s retirement, Follansbee said. They got the keys to their new house the first day of the pandemic lockdown in 2020, she said.

“I had more time on my hands and I filled a room with all the supplies I needed to make art and paintings again,” Follansbee said. “I painted and painted, expressing myself in color and compositions. I explored new mediums and amassed a lot of paintings. My days were not complete if I did not make any art.”

Follansbee said she “got brave” and decided to pursue art full time, and even persuaded Mike to join her in making a painting.

The “difference between us is that he thinks in straight lines while I always curve around,” she said.

That shows up in the three paintings the couple has worked on together: “Great Expectations,” “Keeping It Together” and “Getting It Together,” the artist said.

Mike “is still on the edge about putting out his own work but one day, I know he will,” Follansbee said.

In the meantime, she continues to “enjoy bright colors and making colorful abstract art,” she said. “The process I have developed stems from the discipline of putting paint to canvas or paper every day. My inspiration comes from nature mostly or maybe a line of poetry or rhythms and beats from my background music. Some days, I play and defy color theories. Some days, I am a slave to conformities, but usually I twist a bit and come through. I know I will still evolve and spin and crash maybe. But paint and make art, I will.”

The Frame & Art Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Visit gallery3720.com and frameandart.com.