SHERIDAN — After she admittedly “chickened out” on an art career in college, Sheridan’s Polly Burge is now going all in as an artist and painter.
Burge, 30, and Verdello Olive Oils and Fine Foods hosted an open reception Thursday featuring her work during the final 3rd Thursday Street Festival of the 2021 season.
“We’d been talking about doing something like this for a while,” said Lindsey Vredenburg, Verdello’s general manager. “I thought (a 3rd Thursday) would be a really great time to do it.
“The 3rd Thursdays have generally been good for us, but this is a great turnout,” she added.
Burge said she also enjoyed the opportunity to show off her work at Verdello’s downtown location.
“I like events like these,” said Burge, a native of Lynchburg, Virginia. “This is less formal. … And I’m supporting a business in the community that is supporting me.”
For Burge, the reception was another opportunity to show off her work, featuring oil paintings large and small with a focus on the outdoors and landscapes. Though, she admits she wasn’t always sure she’d pursue her craft.
“It’s my whole life,” she said of her love of art. “I started out (at North Carolina State University) as a studio art major. Then, I chickened out.”
Concerned about whether she could make a living as an artist, Burge switched her major to international studies and finally to Spanish.
After college in 2012, Burge found herself working in the shadows of the Bighorn Mountains as a seasonal employee at Eatons’ Ranch, riding and training horses.
Three years later she made the move to call Sheridan her full-time home.
To help make ends meet, Burge found herself doing pet portraits. In October 2016, she sold her first piece of art and then had her first art show in the summer of 2017.
The idea of being an artist had returned.
“I’m all in,” Burge said, adding she just recently rented her first studio space in the Columbus Building on North Scott Street in Sheridan.
Burge, a member of the SAGE Community Arts board of directors, said she hopes to develop the space as not only a place to work, but also as a gallery.
“My five-year plan is to have my own gallery,” she added. “Then, eventually, I want to build my own studio and gallery. That’s more like my 10 to 15 year plan.”
While working toward her bigger goals, Burge said she’ll continue to focus on painting wildlife and outdoor scenes, including works that feature the Bighorn Mountains. She also currently creates and sells postcards and stationary designs.
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September 18, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Verdello hosts artist reception during final 3rd Thursday - The Sheridan Press
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