Hermon Adams

Western subjects, landscapes, Native Americans, cowboys, horses, fantasy, and wildlife are Hermon's primary subject matter. According to Hermon, "The important things in a painting are beauty, light, depth, and meaning." He accomplishes this in each of his paintings, creating a style that is unmistakably his own.

Hermon was born on September 14, 1945, in Raymond, Mississippi. He began painting at a very early age, selling his first painting by the age of 15. Hermon's artwork, especially the horses, reflects the influences growing up with and training horses, working on his family's cattle farm and on ranches, close by, and in Texas. Hermon received an Associates Degree from Hinds Community College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Design from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1968.

Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sheila Adams, Hermon's wife of forty-one years. I will be telling Hermon's story for him, along with some of my input. Hermon asked me to do this for him, while he spends his time doing what he does best, telling his stories in oils and acrylics on canvas. So bear with me and I think you will enjoy some of the interesting adventures that he has had in his journey of life as an artist.

We married right out of college, I graduated with a BS degree in Elementary Education. At that time, there were only about 3 degrees for women: nursing, teaching, office management. So I became an elementary teacher, which I truly loved. However, had I known I would be in charge of everything other than painting in a small business, I would have taken bookkeeping and office management. Oh, well. My journey has been no less exciting than Hermon's.

Hermon served two years in the Army, after which he worked for several years in commercial art, before beginning painting full time in 1977. He began touring with Artist Touring Association , a group of travelling artists who sold their artwork in malls, following the sun back east, from Miami in Jan. to Maine in July and back again. That in itself was a true adventure. Hermon took 13 paintings to Ashville, NC in a U-haul trailer pulled by his MGB. He was accused of being the only artist who brought his own garage. He stayed in a motel there for the first show. When his expenses were more than his income at that first show, Hermon knew he must cut costs. He slept in the trailer. Jim, four, and I joined him in the summer. Hermon had bought a 1955 Dodge Openroad overhead camper, that sort of leaned to one side. It had a potty, kitchen, sofa, table, refridgerator, double bed in the cabover, a little heater, no hot water heater, but we had our own patio! It was quite the sight to see. But we thought it was fun, except for the no hot water! We went to Binghamton, Albany, and Buffalo, NY that summer. Some of the shows lasted for ten days. Set up was always after the mall closed and we would not get finished until way after midnight. Afterward, some of us met at Denny's for supper. We met some wonderful other artists and quickly made friends. When school began once more, Jim and I went home and Hermon continued to travel, being on the road for several weeks at the time. That was a trying time for all of us. Hermon sacrificed in so many ways in order to send money home to help with the bills, sometimes not eating for days. Jim missed his Daddy so much that it hurt and he acted out and cried a lot. And so did I. It was difficult to keep things going at home and at school by myself. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Jim went to daycare while I was at school. It all made for long days. Nothing could replace Hermon at home.