Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheri Alimonda.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began studying Old Master oil painting techniques at 12 in Brooklyn—layering translucent color over and over again until the skin seems to glow from within. Some of my paintings have dozens of layers, creating an ethereal patina.
I paint museum-quality portraits for everyday people—paintings that don’t just look alive, but truly feel alive. I work to capture the essence of a person, not just their features. To me, it’s a way of making people immortal. Long after we’re gone, that presence remains on canvas.
Over the years, my work has been exhibited in museums and galleries, and I’ve painted live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills, and the Jacob Javits Center in New York. I also lecture on art aboard Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Orient Lines cruises.
In 2011, I opened 7 Fine Arts Studio and Gallery with past locations in Hoboken, Philadelphia, Palm Beach, and now Nashville. I created it as a space where people can experience the joy of making something beautiful—whether it’s through classical oil painting or one of our creative workshops. It’s become one of Nashville’s best-kept secrets, and I love watching people light up when they discover it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
During Covid, I was working full-time in Palm Beach. My portraits were winning awards and selling quickly—I had commissions booked for months and was collaborating with a curator on my first solo museum show. It was the kind of opportunity artists dream about.
Then Covid hit. I lost four commissions in one day. But what came next was even harder. The curator of the museum and I didn’t see eye to eye. I wanted to paint what was happening in our country—the emotion, the chaos, the truth of it all. She wanted me to just paint beauty, keep things comfortable, not controversial.
I had to make a choice: paint what was real-the turmoil in our world-or paint what would sell. Some people ask, why not paint both? During Covid, it was hard to paint at all…let alone paint inauthentically.
So, I walked away from the show. Was it a mistake? Maybe. But I couldn’t trade honesty for approval. My art comes from my soul—and that’s not for sale.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a portrait artist, I create paintings that capture the soul and presence of the person—not just their likeness. When people see my portraits, they often say it feels like the subject could start speaking at any moment. When I’m painting, I’m breathing life into them, and I think that’s the secret to my work..the ability to preserve a person’s spirit so that ten, twenty, even a hundred years from now, they still feel alive. I think of that as one of my greatest gifts.
But I have another gift: teaching. I’ve taught hundreds of people who never believed they could paint, unleashing the artist within themselves.
When people tell me they love my work, I always say thank you—and then tell them I had a great teacher. His name was Ted Fogel, and he gave me something priceless: a technique that became my foundation as an artist and the method I now teach today. It’s the same approach that allowed me to paint like the Old Masters when I was twelve—and it works.
Over the years, I’ve refined it into a process anyone can follow. My methods are incredibly unconventional, but they work—and that’s what counts. People create paintings they can’t believe they made.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I’m new to Nashville, and building 7 Fine Arts here has been both exciting and humbling. My studio and gallery in Wedgewood-Houston have become one of the city’s best-kept secrets—people usually find us through word of mouth, and when they walk in, they can feel that it’s something special.
I love being able to offer creative experiences that surprise people—Turkish Mosaic Lamp workshops, Wabi-Sabi, Resin, and Palette Knife painting. Every class has to meet two rules: it has to be fun for beginners, and the finished piece has to be something you’d be proud to display. Beautiful materials, thoughtful design, and real craftsmanship.
I’m also grateful for how accessible art has become. With things like Afterpay and Klarna, anyone can commission a portrait, which means more stories told and more people remembered on canvas.
I’m happy when there’s a show to paint for, and I have 25 works in progress surrounding me.
And at the end of the day, what makes me happiest are my girls and being Ema.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.7finearts.gallery/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/7finearts/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherialimonda/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@7finearts957
