Jill Troutman grew up in Iowa. She developed an interest in helping women look their best so she went to a beauty school in Denver. Eventually she moved to Greensboro as a recently divorced single mother. There she worked in the beauty industry through 1982. Her positions covered many aspects of the industry: training at beauty schools and salons, supervising salons for a national chain, and serving as a platform stylist at national conventions. During this time of her life painting was a hobby.

At the age of 45 on the advice of her mentor she withdrew from the beauty business and went to art school in New York for the summer. Then she received the Art Student League Fellowship and she went to Sweet Briar in Virginia. She followed this by going to France with the Cleveland Institute of Art. There she met her husband Lear Cherrington who was involved in art education.

In 1985 after a year in New York the couple moved to Mebane where they started Eagle Point as sculpture garden for the visually impaired and a conference center. The design for this garden was done with the help of a designer from the Harvard School of Landscape Design. The idea for garden was inspired by a blind friend of Jill’s whom she had met in 1979. He asked her to describe her paintings that were hanging in the High Point Theater Gallery. She wrote conversational titles such as “ Landscape with shallow water – the water is not blue” He asked: “What color is not blue?”

Jill and Lear asked those who worked with the visually impaired to be trained so they could lead the visitors safely through the garden. Some days had as many as 200 visitors who not only had an opportunity to touch works of art but also we fed a lunch prepared by Jill.

After Lear Cherrington died in 1991 Jill closed Eagle Point and built a house with a studio in Mebane so that she could focus on her painting.
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Painting

Most people in Alamance County have seen her trademark floral paintings. But Jill has continually challenged her goals. One of her mottoes is that she tries to do one scary thing a day. This led her to the new millennium with series such as Rivers of Life and Ancient Residences, trees and collages of all sorts. She has even done some work on sheets of aluminum. Her work continues to evolve in style and quality. She is continually challenging herself to become a better artist. Her paintings hang in locations all over the United States and in other countries.

Not shunning commercial ventures, Jill has had cutting boards, tote bags and doormats made from her paintings. She has a place in Who is Who in American Art.

Community Service

Jill’s service to the community is varied. She has been president of the NC Watercolor Society, and served on the Alamance Arts Council board. She has been a motivational speaker for several businesswomen’s organizations.

Since her paintings are so popular she has been asked to donate some of her work for charity. She estimates there are about ten paintings a year go to good causes. Prints of her paintings have been given to higher lever donors at the United Way.

In 1998 her friends and art students started donating money to begin a Jill Troutman scholarship and Alamance Community College. The funds in this scholarship have accumulated so that two scholarships a year can be given to students in the Graphic arts Department.

Teacher

Art education has been very important in Jill’s life. Her “can do” attitude is infectious, making her students think they can succeed at almost any artistic form.

She was involved in having children paint large canvasses at Arts Around the Square and later at the Dogwood Festival in Mebane. She supplied the large canvasses and paints from her own supplies. The Dogwood Festival paintings hang in the Mebane library and in the Fire Department. Jill was there encouraging the children as they painted, and offering them suggestions about color and form.

Jill started teaching adult students in 2001 . More than 150 people have gone through her classes. She demonstrates and chides and mostly encourages. To give her students confidence she has cultivated venues for her students to show and sell their paintings. The community can see the student works in places as varied as chiropractic offices and theaters.

One of Jill’s most recent projects has been Artists’ Incredible Edibles a cookbook. She had her students paint food art pictures and submit recipes to create a gourmet cookbook. The proceeds from the sale of these books go to benefit Alamance County libraries to purchase books and videos on how to paint and create art. The group started with a plan of printing one thousand books, but the number was doubled in part due to the enthusiasm of the Friends of the Library.

In General

Jill’s view of art is so vast. She shares this knowledge and experience liberally with her students. “Think outside the box”, “Do one terrifying thing a day”, “It is not brain surgery, so try it.”, and “You can’t paint something you can’t fix.” Her enthusiasm is contagious; her energy is boundless. She keeps moving on to new things: art in Italy, one hip and three knee replacements, more classes, and always new ways of seeing and looking.