Artist and gallery owner Sherry Omans never paints with a photo for reference. How could you feel the art spiritually, she said, with just one image?
Instead, Sherry paints from memory, and her art takes on a mesmerizing, ethereal quality. Looking at Sherry’s work is similar to dredging up a memory of one’s own. It’s a foggy recollection of a babbling stream in the winter. The haze of sunlight through Aspen trees. The vibrant green of a million blades of grass in a field.
She said that, often, art progresses over time. She likes to paint without reference because it allows her to get a feel and sensation of the piece. A photo lies, she said. Memory is the only trustworthy reference for painting.
“I think as artists progress in life, they get more spiritual,” Sherry said. “If you march to the rules all the time, you never feel things spiritually.”
Sherry is proud of her work as an artist. Though she won’t say she is overtly talented, Sherry humbly divulged that she has had multiple pieces on display in galleries across Utah and in exhibitions at the Springville Museum of Art. The Springville Museum has also highlighted notable artists such as John Hafen, Minerva Teichert and James Christensen.
But Sherry’s own work does not take a place of honor in Midway’s Edelweiss Art Gallery. As the sole proprietor of Midway’s first gallery (as she likes to call it), Sherry placed her husband’s painting above the antique wood and beige-patterned couch where she sits to do her work each day.
David Omans’ painting of a lush forest hangs on the ochre walls of Sherry’s beloved gallery. The brush strokes are slightly more forward and purposeful than those in Sherry’s paintings. The coloring is more distinct. Their styles are similar, but not the same.
“Dave was a modernist because he loved Picasso,” Sherry said. “But when we came to Midway, people didn’t get it.”
For Sherry, David’s paintings are a reminder of the husband she loved who passed away in 2004. The pair started the gallery together after they moved to town nearly 42 years ago.
When Sherry and David bought the building that would become Edelweiss Art Gallery, Sherry said there was plenty of work to be done. The gallery building is, after all, 130 years old today. Sherry said the structure was nearly “ready to be torn down” when the couple acquired the space. Then-Mayor Eugene Probst was not too happy about the purchase.
“He was very crotchety about it, but when we got it done, he said, ‘Do you know, I never thought you’d make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,’” Sherry said, chuckling.
The building maintains its historic charm to this day. David painted the Edelweiss Gallery sign script and mural above the front door. There is a near-ancient bell atop the building that Sherry still tolls when asked. The Omans family purchased the front door — paned with dark wood and glass — for $10, and it’s still holding strong.
Since Sherry and David started their business together, Edelweiss has become a staple in Midway and a gallery on par with those in Park City and across the Wasatch Back. Sherry said she has loved working with different artists over the years who come to display their work in her historic gallery.
Sherry, a lover of French painter Claude Monet’s work, said she believes that all artists should study art history “to get beyond your own box.” Sherry also believes in the continuing education of artists. She emulates the Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery because “they educated people.”
That gallery is now based in Salt Lake City and is one of the nation’s foremost dealers in Russian Impressionist art. Sherry strives to educate artists on art theory and history, and she said her goal was never to “get rich” in gallery ownership.
“Even when we started the gallery, that wasn’t the goal,” Sherry said. “It was to educate and enjoy the journey.”
If David is Sherry’s first love and art is her second, then Midway City must secure third place in Sherry’s heart. A dedicated community member, Sherry spent time decades ago sitting on Midway’s Planning Commission and working toward the “beautification” of the town.
“I’m not one of the old timers, the ones that were born and raised here. But I’ve loved this community for years,” Sherry said.
She and her husband could be found watering planters in Midway Town Square and tidying the gardens and pathways, she said. Caring for her community is something Sherry still cherishes.
Reflecting on her history, Sherry said she believes it’s important — especially in a historic town like Midway — to share life stories. When asked if she had any words of wisdom for younger generations, Sherry said she felt she learned the most from hard work on her family’s farm growing up.
“I think kids are smarter today than we were, but somehow it got complicated. You know, life is complicated,” Sherry said. “But I think you can gain, in your life, wisdom and common sense.”
For anyone — artist or no — Sherry said the best recipe for a good life is to keep going through the good and the bad.
“I think the greatest learning process is making mistakes,” Sherry said.
Sherry recorded her history as an artist and her life’s story through the Midway Historic Preservation Committee’s oral histories project. Her oral history video recording can be found at midwayhistoricpreservation.org.