Gail Heminger Cunningham was born in South Bend, Indiana, and has lived in Columbia, South Carolina, for the past 25 years. Gail’s love of art began at an early age. Her mother was a talented artist who shared her love of painting. Gail is a full time artist who works in watercolor, acrylics, and collage. She also creates one of a kind jewelry using polymer clay.

Gail is a member of Trenholm Artists Guild and Seven Oaks Art League, where she served as president, newsletter editor, membership chair and juried show chair. She is currently Regional Director of the South Carolina Watermedia Society and Vice President of Trenholm Artists Guild. Gail’s work has been juried into the South Carolina Watermedia Society and the South Carolina State Fair, and included in the juried art exhibits at Crooked Creek Art League, Trenholm Artists Guild and Seven Oaks Art League, where she won awards in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 2008,2009 and 2010. Gail’s pen and ink artwork was chosen for the cover of Trenholm Artists Guild’s 2007/2008 membership directory and also their juried show program. In 2008, she won the award for best “Fabulous Fake” at Seven Oaks Art League for Diego Rivera's painting "The Flower Carrier". She also won a Merit Award and Purchase Patron Award for "Welcome to Greenyville" at the SC State Fair in 2009. In 2010 Gail won a Merit Award for "Singing in the Rain" from the Trenholm Artists Guild. Juror John Hall, Professor of Studio Art at College of Charleston, made this statement about her painting: "Strong composition. Well organized and dynamic. I enjoyed the colored grays playing off against the small moments of pure color. More abstract, but reminiscent of Thiebauld’s compositions."

Gail has studied with many nationally known artists including Gerald Brommer, Linda Doll, Warren Taylor, Marilyn Phillis, and Margaret Martin. She has also studied with well known polymer clay artists Donna Kato, Kim Cavender, and Judy Belcher. She has exhibited her paintings and jewelry at many venues in the Columbia area and throughout the state. She is currently represented in Columbia, South Carolina at Village Artists at Village at Sandhill, the Gallery at Nonnah's on Gervais Street in the Vista and in North Carolina at Sunset River Market Place in Calabash.

I put equal importance on the viewer's interpretation as I do my own, rarely being specific as to the art's meaning. The mystery is part of the appeal, it helps the viewer bring their own life to the art. Making art is a wonderful process for me. I love working in a variety of mediums to create multiple layers and textures in my work. I have been influenced by family and wonderfully creative artsy friends who have supported me throughout this process. I believe my art has come full circle, back to the days of doodling with my mother at the kitchen table and trying to find recognizable shapes and creatures in our creations. I enjoy the process of mixing colors on paper, letting the paint flow, finding shapes and patterns and running with them. I am captured by the freedom of creating abstracts.

Gail Heminger Cunningham