Cheryl Crane-Hunter approaches painting as a way to listen—not to trends or noise, but to something quieter and more enduring. With a background in art education and a deep bond with nature, she paints not just to express but to connect. Her work often carries a spiritual current, woven through with light, emotion, and symbols that hint at deeper layers. Every canvas becomes a place where seen and unseen meet.
She often finds inspiration by the sea, where moonlight and tide become part of her rhythm. The brush becomes a way to receive, rather than control. There’s little rigidity in her process—only attention, trust, and a willingness to follow where the painting wants to go. What emerges feels less like a product and more like a moment captured in stillness. Cheryl describes her work as divinely guided, shaped by intuition and a belief in love as a force that moves through all things.
“As the world in the 5th dimension seems to be crumbling around me… I am answering a calling.”
That’s how she speaks of her current path. It’s not about a career in art—it’s a response to something larger. She paints from a place of presence. What results isn’t decorative or didactic—it’s intentional, reflective, and often healing. She recently shared three pieces that speak to her connection with composition, color, and symbolism.
Full Moon on Topsail Island is a monochromatic acrylic painting that captures the still energy of a moonlit night by the sea. Soft greys and silvers define the scene, but what gives the piece its depth is what can’t be seen. Cheryl views the moon here as a kind of messenger—a quiet force that calls in support from the spiritual realm. The ocean below mirrors that energy, holding space for messages, signs, and silent clarity. It’s a painting that invites you to stop and pay attention to what’s whispering underneath the surface.
The second work, The Dance, offers a shift in tone. There’s more movement, a freer hand. Cheryl draws from the idea of Lemuria—a lost world rooted in peace and spiritual connection. This isn’t a literal depiction, but a gesture toward something felt: the possibility of light in dark spaces. Transparent layers float over each other, forming shapes that glow without hard lines. It’s an ongoing dialogue between contrast and harmony. Cheryl’s brush seems to search, not for definition, but for balance. The piece holds both mystery and softness, like light touching water.
Over the Rainbow, the third painting, is tied to personal loss. Cheryl created it while her father was dying, and the act of painting became a way to process what couldn’t be said. Blues flow across the canvas, layered in a way that evokes movement—drifting, shifting, dissolving. There’s no clear beginning or end, just the sensation of a journey. For Cheryl, it became clear during this time that love is what stays with us—from the moment we arrive to the moment we leave. The painting was later shown at the Wilmington airport as part of a show exploring themes of migration and belonging. In it, grief and love blend into one another, without needing to be separated.
These three works don’t try to make bold declarations. They don’t compete for attention. Instead, they hold space—for memory, for energy, for quiet truths. Cheryl isn’t painting to explain life, but to honor it. Her work asks for stillness. It asks for presence. In return, it offers something gentle and grounding.
In a fast world, her paintings feel like small places to rest. They remind us to trust what can’t be seen, to move slowly, and to listen for what might rise when we stop trying so hard to look. Cheryl Crane-Hunter’s art is a reminder that sometimes, meaning doesn’t need to be chased—it just needs to be received.
