GETTING STARTED
Artist: Brett Schroyer Father/Artist: Franklin (Buck) Schroyer
Greenfield Woodworks is a story that you don’t often hear about. What started out as a hobby, has grown into a full time business for me. I have a fine art background thanks in part to my father, Franklin, now retired. He was an art teacher at a local high school and also taught art appreciation at Penn State, Shenango in Sharon. PA.
I grew up watching him paint landscapes and still life’s in his studio. A significant amount of my youth was spent there practicing and learning. I soon discovered that portrait and illustration painting was my then passion and enjoyed working in the styles of Norman Rockwell, Gibson. Barry and Vargas. My mother was the real music enthusiast of the family so I was fortunate enough to grow up with a fine appreciation for art, design and music. The radio and my pens and brushes were my oasis. I spent countless hours with my giant Radio Shack headphones on my head and pigment on my shirt painting, drawing, and dreaming.
The woodworking came later. I went into carpentry and was fortunate enough to work with some very talented individuals whose passions rubbed off on me. As a young adult I built a small shop in my parent’s garage and enjoyed building furniture and making the occasional repair for family, friends and neighbors. Yes the music was always on! Carpentry was definitely the right career choice for me.
My talents led me to work for Wal-Mart in the early 90’s as a store planner in Bentonville Arkansas. I was able to tour the country for four years. While on the road I spent a lot of time driving through small towns as well as big cities always thinking of that next painting to paint or walking around small furniture shops collecting and developing ideas and a dream. When I moved back to western PA I went back into that small shop in the garage and started to build. My father and I picked up a book on carving carousel horses and Victorian style rocking horses thinking it would be a fun project to work on together. The rest is history. Greenfield Woodworks began to breath. In the Spring of 2002 I broke ground and began building my “Dream” shop. A place that I can showcase and continue to grow as an artist.
Example's of my early work.
In the summer of 2018, I received an email from the NaPua Art Gallery located inside the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Wailea Resort in Maui Hawaii asking to represent my work.
Nationally Recognized
In the vibrant and hopeful spring of 2023, I made the important decision to enter The Masters of Craft competition, an event generously sponsored by Keeneland Mercantile in the charming and historically rich Lexington, Kentucky. To be completely honest, I have never been particularly interested in entering my work into any sort of art competition in the past, largely due to my unwavering focus on the quality of craftsmanship rather than seeking accolades or recognition. However, when this unique and exciting opportunity presented itself, I eagerly jumped at the chance to showcase my creations to a wider audience. To my utter astonishment, I never thought for even a moment that I would place in the competition, let alone secure and win the entire prestigious award. What an incredible honor it has been to have my name associated with this amazing accomplishment, elevating my work within the art community and inspiring me to continue creating.
