STARK COUNTY

Meet David Sherrill, a self-taught Canton artist

Patricia Faulhaber
Special to the Canton Repository
David Sherrill is a self-taught artist who lives in downtown Canton. He sells his artwork through the website daveruinsart.com.
  • David Sherrill is a self-taught artist who lives in downtown Canton.
  • He sells his artwork through the website daveruinsart.com.
  • "I've drawn and made music since I was a child. My first art love was newspaper comic strips and Saturday morning cartoons," he said.

David Sherrill , aka @DaveRuinsArt, graduated from Springtown High School in rural Texas. He is a self-taught artist and now lives in downtown Canton.

He is married to Melissa Sherrill, and the couple have a dog named Bebe. Sherrill uses his studio as his gallery and as a shipping department for artwork that he sells on his website.

Before going into only working and selling his artwork, he operated a store in downtown Canton for a number of years. While it has been closed for a few years, Sherrill said he would like to work toward reopening it sometime in the future.

“We were in a vintage store in downtown Canton called Arrowhead Vintage for five years, but I've been a professional artist for three years now,” he said said. “I only sell my art and prints, and my wife’s crochet items from the website ( daveruinsart.com ). We do not have any immediate plans to reopen the store but I'm working towards that eventually.”

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What got you interested in the art world?

I've drawn and made music since I was a child. My first art love was newspaper comic strips and Saturday morning cartoons.

As I grew older, I started to love monster design and old science fiction films and underground comic books and zines.

David Sherrill is a self-taught artist who lives in downtown Canton. He sells his artwork through the website daveruinsart.com.

What mediums do you work in?

The work I'm best and most well-known for is painting in acrylic on thrifted landscapes. I paint in acrylic because I am untrained and need to quickly paint over shades, hues and shapes.

I paint things over and over and acrylic allows that.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I get my inspiration from science fiction and fantasy films. I like imaginative characters and creature design.

What are your top three thoughts about the art community in Stark County?

I've always been impressed with how Canton's art scene is made up of a large majority of women. We really have an exceptionally large group of skilled female craftsmen that are completely dominating the art scene and it's been that way for as long as I can remember.

Our city also has very supportive media. Our newspaper frequently shares our art and artists, and praises them without harsh criticism. I feel like we are very lucky to have so many talented artists and supporters in this town.

Who are your top three favorite artists and why?

Ronnie Babb at the Silo is my favorite artist. He's pure art. That man's work is the most interesting thing I've ever seen.

Ralph McQuarrie is a 1970s sci-fi artist that I love, his imagination and executions are moving. George Joseph Herriman IIl is also fascinating to me. He was able to convey fun and madness in simple ink.

Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.

David Sherrill is a self-taught artist who lives in downtown Canton. He sells his artwork through the website daveruinsart.com.