If you should happen to be wandering the Ocala, Florida area, on a quiet road meandering through horse country, or on a narrow lane bordered by “old Florida” wood-frame cottages, you might come upon Milly Sheffer painting at the roadside. Easel on the tailgate of her pickup truck, she will be intent on capturing the fleeting light of early morning or late afternoon as it illuminates the side of a weathered building or throws deep shadows across the golden planes of a field.
Milly Sheffer earned a degree in Art at Wheaton College, and took classes at the Chicago Art Institute and Syracuse University. She studied watercolor with Charles Reid, Skip Lawrence, Christopher Schink, and numerous other teachers. She has had several solo exhibitions of her watercolor portraits, one featuring residents of an assisted-living facility, another depicting a community of refugees. Other exhibitions have featured cityscapes of Buffalo, NY, paintings of a trip to Italy, and a series of oils done in her Florida hometown. After an extended period of time spent in the Middle East, she compiled a book of her watercolors of Jordan, Syria and Turkey. She is now working on a series of paintings inspired by her travels in Southeast Asia and the mountainous regions of Central Mexico.
After years of working in watercolor, Milly recently returned to painting in oils. Initially choosing the twelve-inch square format in order to paint quickly and experimentally, she soon fell in love with it and then just kept going! She prefers to work quickly and loosely, and, when painting in oils, utilizes the texture of paint applied in bold brushstrokes.
Formerly of Western New York, John and Milly Sheffer now make their home in Ocala. They have three adult daughters and three incredible grandkids!
