Bio

Born and raised in the Upper Midwest, Shawna draws deep from the winter-forged well of her overactive imagination. Her character- driven, narrative paintings explore human chameleonic behaviors. She commonly employs vintage-inspired photos, patterns, and interior/exterior elements in her surreal paintings. Shawna graduated in 2000 from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a BFA in Studio Art, Emphasis on Drawing and Printmaking. She has exhibited both locally and nationally. Her work is part of private collections world wide. Shawna lives with her verbally talented husband(Eddy), their twins and a menagerie of critters in a lively neighborhood near lovely Lake Superior.

Statement

My paintings delight in narrative mysteries and surreal scenes. They are portals to another world where the viewer is free to escape, to daydream. Often humorous, sometimes poignant, my work encourages alternative thinking and a sparking of the imagination.

I have been exploring chameleonic behavior in my work for several years. The chameleonic attributes of the characters in these paintings represent ideas of mindfulness, consciousness, connection and awareness of place. Some of my paintings reflect a longing to hide. Other pieces explore desires of fitting in. Observing my twin teenagers wrestle over who they are, wanting to both blend in and stand out simultaneously stirs up this struggle even more in my work. Most of us grapple with the desire of becoming part of something without completely losing ourselves.

Most of my work can be divided into two fascinations; surreal scenes and patterned portraits. Both are a critical part of my practice and I cannot have one without the other. They work simultaneously, cross- pollinating and stretching different parts of my mind while allowing me to zoom in to create a more intimate portrait and zoom out to imagine an interesting scene.

My surreal scenes bridge both interior and exterior elements creating an entirely new world. This melding of outside/inside can be traced to my love of fantasy and science fiction. My patterned portraits reflect an appreciation for vintage wallpaper, fabric, as well as a love of early Hollywood. I am heavily influenced by the style and characteristics of vintage photography which provides a sense of history, nostalgia and timelessness. Some of my earliest and fondest memories date back to days spent with my family in antique stores, thrift shops and estate sales scouring through photo albums and getting lost in another era.