Cheryl Humphreys identifies perception itself as material. A printmaking artist based in Los Angeles, California, she explores the nuanced nature of colour, texture, shape, and scale throughout her thought-provoking work.

I was first introduced to Cheryl’s work through her Moonscapes series some years ago and have, more recently, watched her bloom in colour. Deep in the midst of the global pandemic, this artist undertook an uplifting project that uses the seven colours of the visible spectrum as visual aids for meditation. Her series of original prints on this subject has since been crafted into a book containing full scale posters and a key to summarise how the vibrations of each colour can be used to explore our mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

Indigo is for turning inward and elevating, for example, as the cosmic vibrations expand the mind. While yellow stimulates the logical mind—its radiant vibrations uplifting, cleansing, and refreshing. It can be used to rise and shine—which is why Cheryl has kindly provided JANE PRIVÉE readers with a very special downloadable extract on ‘Yellow’ from her book In Color: Spectral Meditations for Healing. 

Speaking with Cheryl over the course of a few months—first as part of an art feature I was writing for JANE Issue Eleven and, later, as our Featured Artist for JANE PRIVÉE—has been a true joy. In our conversation below, she expands upon her unique creative process and reveals her most exciting project to date. 

Rosie Dalton: Can you introduce yourself to JANE readers?
Cheryl Humphreys: My full name is Cheryl Louise Humphreys. My friends call me Cher. I am an artist living and working in Los Angeles, California, and my current, most exciting project is the one growing in my belly. 

How would you describe what you do and your professional journey to date? 
Simply put, I create art using printmaking. The discovery of my process all started with an experiment years ago in the print studio when I was in school. Using a piece of damp printmaking paper and an architectural stencil, I created what would be my first blind embossing. The stencil I used had all sorts of interesting, geometric shapes and the end result was beautiful. A true happy accident. I loved that without ink, there was just shape and shadow. The paper became three dimensional and suddenly felt precious. I began to think: ‘What else could I do to it? Dye it, hand make it, tear it, collage it, emboss it, ink it?’ The exploration is endless.

Can you run us through your artistic process and the materials that you use? 
My materials are quite simple: ink, dye, paper and some form of a handmade stencil or plate. My process, on the other hand, is quite complex. Maths, measuring, timing and precise applications of ink and dye are used to bring a piece to life. Some parts of my process (like the printing) must be flawless to work, and others like the dyeing can be loose and free. It is the combination that creates the harmony.

Where is it that you create and what does a day in the studio look like for you?
I share an art studio with my husband Michael (also an artist) in downtown Los Angeles. The building we are in used to be an old zipper factory. It is bright yellow with a giant teal zipper made from bricks running up the front of the two-storey building. There are four other art studios in the space and a big rooftop where we picnic for lunch and have happy hours with friends during sunset. 

A typical day starts for me with a matcha in bed, some yoga, breathwork or pilates in the living room, a hike up one of the LA canyons with our pup Juni, and a fabulous breakfast with eggs and a green juice made at home. Slow mornings are a MUST in our house… we consider it the most sacred time of day. 

We head to the studio around 11 or so. Imagine an NTS radio show playing in the background, huge vats of dyes brewing, large pieces of coloured paper covering most surface areas, incense burning, and a big white pup snoozing in the corner. We always break for a sunny lunch on the roof, picnic style with a blanket and a healthy meal and then back to it. Lately my studio days are very full as I prepare for a solo show opening this summer. My screen time was down to an average of 17 minutes a day last week—proof of my current focus. This is a record!

And what are you working on at the moment?
In July, I have a solo show opening in LA with Sarah Brook Gallery. I keep thinking of it as a birth before THE birth. It’s such a wild time to be making art. It was really important to me to create a body of work while pregnant. It feels like a documentation of this time… seeing the thoughts and feelings about what is and what will be, come through my hands. 

I have been experimenting with all-natural dyes to protect myself and baby Cyan (yes, like the colour). This exploration includes dyes made from plants and flowers like indigo, marigold, logwood, walnut, hibiscus, even avocado pits, as well as dyes made from bugs like cochineal and lac extract. It’s magic seeing the beautiful and surprisingly bright colours that come from nature. The best part about using the botanical dyes is that when you are done with them, you can use them to water your garden. Full circle.

I am experimenting with sunlight exposure as opposed to ink for my graphic shapes. Again, adjusting my usual process and embracing Mother Nature. 

After the show in July, I will be taking some time off to transition into motherhood. Cyan is due in August, so this fall will be full of learning and getting to know each other.

So beautiful! I also love your recent Spectral Meditations body of work. Can you tell us a bit about this series and how it came to be? 
This was a project I worked on during the pandemic, so healing was on my mind… specifically alternative forms of healing and methods for self-soothing and maintaining balance. I wanted to make something that people could easily have in their homes, something anyone could pick up and enjoy. 

I began researching the science behind colour and its real-life potential for healing, transformation, and transcendence. The result of that research became a series of monoprints presenting all seven colours of the visible spectrum as visual aids for meditation: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. 

From these original prints, I created a book containing full scale posters and a key summarising how the vibrations of each colour can be used to explore our mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.

I exhibited the original framed prints as the closing exhibition to my residency at Otra Vox and the accompanying book with them in the Gallery. The originals were not for sale, and I hope to show them again somewhere in the future. 

But the books are available at select bookstores across the US and at incolorbook.com.

Colours are universal—they surround us all day, every day—but they are also quite esoteric. What was it that inspired you to delve into the meditative properties of colour? 
Learning that colour is vibration, just in the same way that sound is, and that we absorb these vibrations through our environment, our clothes, the food we eat, and even our thoughts got me thinking... What does red actually do to our physical make up? How is blue affecting my mental state? Is the pink chair I just put in the studio helping or hurting my workflow? How can we use these vibrations to affect us in positive ways? 

And what is your own earliest memory of colour? 
I love this question! My earliest memories of colour are from trips to the beach with my grandmother. Growing up, I would spend a good portion of every summer with her in Cape Cod. 

Because of its shape, the Cape is one of the only places on the east coast where you can see the sun rise out of the water on the ocean side and set into the water on the bay side. Our long summer days would revolve around these two events. She would tell us it was good luck to swim in the water the sun sets in and so we would swim. 

These were my first moments of understanding what beauty is and how colour could not just be seen but be FELT.

Can you share some colours that you have been feeling inspired by lately?

1. Image of the bottom of the pool at Casa Pedregal (designed by Luis Barragan) on a recent trip to Mexico City
2. Cover of Mother Tongue Magazine—a biannual title interrogating (and celebrating) modern motherhood
3. Image of a kayak from last summer in Cape Cod, the day that my husband and I sat on the beach outside of where we were planning to get married and wrote our vows
4. Skin tones and sandy beach photo from my iPhone
5. Sunsets—always and forever showing me how colour is not just seen but FELT

What are some of the insights that you have discovered about colour through working on Spectral Meditations for Healing?
These are some of my favourite findings from each colour:

Red is heating and energising. It can be used to motivate, promote blood flow, clear stagnant energy and arouse.

Orange promotes joy, ease, and social interaction. It can be used to get the creative juices flowing and is good for movement and big, deep breaths.

Yellow is uplifting, cleansing, and refreshing. It stimulates the logical mind and encourages the power of thought. 

Green is revitalising and restorative. It promotes harmony, balance, and is soothing to the nervous system.

Blue is cooling and calming. It can be used to slow the heart rate, create the sensation of space and is excellent for self-expression.

Indigo is elevating and expanding. It can be used to encourage imagination, connect with intuition, and heighten consciousness.

Violet is electric and purifying. It soothes the nerves and can be used to advance self-realisation and divine connection.

How do you think we can disrupt the system and get back to our sense of self through the healing powers of colour? 
Awareness of how each colour affects us can empower us to use them to our advantage. 

And what do you feel that colour awareness has lent to your own life and practice? 
More knowledge about anything brings more understanding. As I grow and as my practice evolves, colour has only become more important to me. I am now connected to colour as a lived, felt, and embodied experience.

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