Cherise Stutzman has lived and traveled all over the world from Egypt to Alaska, Japan to Connecticut but most adores living in Moscow, Idaho, where her husband and she met before moving all over the west coast for the past 23 years. She double majored in college at the University of Idaho in English Literature and Music Theory and Composition. She began as an art major but quickly absconded from the field due to the lecherous secularism she observed. But her love for painting and finding beauty followed her everywhere she went. She began painting at 13 and took private lessons from a famous contemporary painter in Boise, Idaho, between 2009 and 2012. She self-studied the great painters, researching their techniques and trades with determinism and diligence. Meanwhile, she taught orchestra and private music classes at the Ambrose School while also playing and being commissioned to write a symphony for the Meridian Symphony Orchestra in Meridian, Idaho. She spent 2012-2016 writing music for CREC and PCA churches in Spokane, Washington. In 2016, she switched to whole-heartedly painting and becoming Art Director of The Oaks Classical Christian Academy. While in Spokane, she debuted as a galleried artist. From there, she found herself in a gallery in Escondido, CA, and in San Diego as a member of the San Diego Watercolor Society. Later she exhibited pieces in Coeur d’ Alene, ID. From 2016-2023, she was Art Director at The Oaks, taught Advanced Painting in Escondido, and served as Art Director at Classical Christian School in the Coeur d’ Alene area. Mrs. Stutzman, ever the pragmatic, knows what it is to wrestle with “superfluity” of the arts. And yet, almost daily God keeps drawing her back to the sometimes impractical beautiful world of fine art. She is happily married to the man of her dreams, and has three incredible, brilliant adult children. In Mrs. Stutzman’s spare time, she paints. When she isn’t painting, she is researching, scheming, plotting, and dreaming about what to paint next. On the off hours, she reads, plays cello and piano, sings, writes music, goes to Bible studies, visits with friends, or tries to cook. One of her life goals is to travel again and go to many of the famous art museums of the world. She loves people and God’s world and desires to spread the Lord’s love, especially among the suffering.

Mrs. Stutzman has had her work in the following galleries: Spokane, Washington, Escondido, and San Diego California, and Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. She also has been a member of the San Diego Watercolor Society. She has been an art director at two ACCS schools, and has taught for over twenty years.