The Underwater World of Cheryl Walsh

If you have driven through the heart of Santa Ana on Main Street, (between 17th St and Civic Center Drive), you should be familiar with Cheryl’s impressive 30 foot tall photographs of underwater dancers located on the side of Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) Dance and Science Complex.

Walsh has created an immersive, multimedia experience and her show will utilize all of OCCCA’s 6,300 square foot gallery with more than 80 unique prints. Photographed entirely underwater, her internationally award-winning art work has been acclaimed for its exquisite lighting, attention to fine detail, color harmony, ethereal, effortless feel, distinguished posing and old-world painterly look. For this exhibition, Walsh is presenting her work framed and arranged much like the traditional portrait galleries in a museum. 

As well as being an accomplished photographer, Walsh is also a trained digital fine art printer, and prints her photographs in extra large sizes up to 42x64 inches. Many of her works are framed in baroque style gilded frames. Walsh is thoughtful about her medium, choosing among European cotton textured fine art papers, mulberry based, translucent Japanese papers as well as traditional darkroom-like photographic papers; all an integral part of creating her own unique artistic signature. Window coverings, wallpaper, hanging scrolls, and small embellished cabochons all printed with Cheryl’s art, create an experience for viewers beyond a traditional gallery show. 

Working with a lighting designer, utilizing projection, videos, and environmental stimulus, Cheryl has created an “Underwater Experience” room allowing viewers an immersive explanation into her motivation for working underwater. On display are gowns, headpieces, wigs, corsets, crowns, faerie wings and mermaid tails created by the artisans with whom she collaborates. Educational components will include a Saturday workshop on digital fine art printing and an artist’s talk that will include some of her collaborating artists. As an artist-in-residence she will be available to share her process and what goes into creating her unique art.