Artist Statement

My work focuses on the complicated nature of people and the layers and chapters that define our lives. These mixed media paintings combine textures of the Florida landscape and a variety of historic and contemporary images that balance on the edge of recognition and abstraction. Time, memory, family and relationships always play a key role. These paintings represent time lines of memories —fleeting fragments of details and textures surrounded by moments of clarity. The bits and pieces that flash in our dreams and recall a feeling without specifics or clarity. I am interested in exploring how common life experiences and a simple snapshot can alter our self-image and cause unsettling or uplifting shifts in our personal foundations. My intent is to create intense personal moments that lure the viewer into a colorful world where past and present fuse. 

Bio

I grew up in rural north Florida on our family farm.  I earned my BFA from Florida State University, graduating in 1996 with an emphasis on mixed media painting and photography.  I served as an Exhibit Designer and then Curator of Exhibits for the Museum of Florida History for over ten years while continuing to make art and exhibit my work. After giving birth to my daughter in 2010, I decided to stay home to raise my daughter and explore new ideas through my artwork.  In 2022 our family moved to Guatemala to begin a new chapter and explore Central America.

Although I live in a completely different culture now, my work continues to focus on themes of family, relationships, and the complexity of individuals. We are not simple beings. We are in constant flux and—like it or not—change is inevitable.

Growing up, I was fortunate to know many of my great aunts and uncles, great grandparents and grandparents. Spending a lot of time with multiple generations and hearing so many personal stories and family lore left a lasting impression. I've always loved old photos and as a kid I could spend hours pouring over dusty photo albums trying to imagine what life was like for those pictured. Now I find it sad to see boxes of family photos for sale at yard sales or online. Photos of unremembered faces and memories that are no longer cherished by anyone living. But the positive side of these discarded photos is that the moments captured are often common and universal human experiences—a child with their first bike, a proud fisherman with their prize catch, holidays at the beach. These same moments we continue to cherish generation after generation. Perhaps our modern lives are not that different from the people captured and frozen in that black and white, deckled-edge world.

Past Exhibitions

The Artwork of Mark Dickson and Charity Myers, Fine Arts Gallery, Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, Florida, 2019

Persistence of Memory: Artworks by Deon Lewis, Charity Myers and Julie Guyot, City Hall Galleries, Tallahassee, Florida, 2018

Permanent Installation, Pedaling Pink on Paths of Gold, Greenwise Market, Tallahassee, Florida, 2018

Assemblage: 5 Artists—20 Years, Florida State University, Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, Florida, 2016

Even the Night Shined—an exhibition of works by Janae Easton and Charity Myers, Gallery for Innovation and the Arts, R.A. Gray Building, Tallahassee, Florida, 2015

Solo Exhibition, Dreams, Rituals, Recollections, Tallahassee Community College Fine Art Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida, 2011

Solo Exhibition, Tallahassee Community College, President’s Office, Tallahassee, Florida, 2010

Creative Tallahassee, City Hall Gallery, Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida, 2009

Inaugural Exhibition, Florida Museum of Women Artist, DeLand, Florida, 2009

Photofest 2008, ArtPort Gallery, Tallahassee Regional Airport, Tallahassee, Florida, 2008

Hidden Talents, Heritage Gallery, R. A. Gray Building, Tallahassee, Florida 2008

Cut Cords: Photobabies Come Home, Tallahassee Community College Fine Arts Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida, 2005

Hidden Talents, Heritage Gallery, R. A. Gray Building, Tallahassee, Florida, 2005

Artist League Summer Exhibition, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, Florida, 2004

Five Elements, Artists League Exhibition, Gadsden Art Center, Quincy, Florida, 2003

The Artwork of Joan Matey & Charity Wood, Pyramid Studios, Tallahassee, Florida, 2003

Synergie Salon, Claude Pepper Center, Tallahassee, Florida, 2002