Baker Artist Portfolios

Cheryl Milligan has always been a curious investigator of life, nature and human behavior, and this restless exploration has led her art practice to include painting in oil, acrylic and watercolor, painted paper collage, and diorama constructions. It’s safe to say that each time Milligan starts a new project, this curiosity leads her to explore a new avenue of looking and creating, which in turn keeps her art fresh and exciting for her.

Since retiring from teaching in 2018, Milligan returned to her studio full time and continued her art explorations. She started with paintings of skies. As she put it, “While most people are busy looking down at their phones, I like looking up. The sky is vast, ever-changing and beautiful. It continually puts things in perspective for me. It never repeats itself, it has different moods and is different from day to day and from moment to moment. It is just like our own experience with living.”

Her Beach Sky series of paintings on large canvasses led directly to her Museum Series. As Milligan explained, “Since I usually work on larger canvasses when painting in oil, I wanted to challenge myself by working very small. So I began my ‘Museum Series.’ I wondered what it would be like if my work was in a museum. My ‘Museum Series’ dioramas are me imagining what peoples’ responses would be to my work.”

Milligan’s painted paper collages are an exploration of a different kind of painting, with the same concerns in terms of composition and color relationships. Eventually, these collages included drawings from her drawing practice and turned into sculptural collage paper constructions.

Milligan moved to Maryland in 1991 from New York, where she taught design after many years in broadcasting. She resumed her teaching career at the secondary level teaching Advanced Placement painting. Milligan was appointed the art department chair at Towson High School. During her tenure, Milligan received the distinction of being named the National Art Educator of the Year from the National Art Education Association.

Milligan has exhibited her work locally and on the East Coast in a variety of venues. She has received awards for her work, including Best in Show (3rd), Honorable Mentions, Judges’ Choice, Distinguished Awards, and Juror’s Awards. Milligan’s work has also appeared in Studio Visit Magazine, volumes 43, 46 and 47, and will also appear in an upcoming Studio Visit Alumni publication.