As a contemporary landscape painter, my work is a conscious play of mood, light and color, but as a naturalist raised and rooted in the diverse landscapes of western America, a painting means more than a location to me. Each place is an encounter with the land, the trees, and the waters which have always given me a sense of connection and order. When a location intrigues and inspires me, I paint the scene into a series using a range of keys or themes, experimenting and searching to learn more about the natural threads that tie the landscape together with complexity, subtlety and⎯more importantly⎯balance. I look for new ways to express relationships and depth with layers of paint, brushwork, gradations, and diffusions of light. My intention is to bring the viewer closer to an honest translation⎯of both soul and land.
Shanna was raised with a strong connection to the land and a deep sense of place. Her upbringing in the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah, as well as her experiences exploring the mountain ranges and deserts of the West, have heavily influenced her work. Art, music, and family have been constant sources of inspiration for Shanna and have helped shape her unique voice as a painter.
In her work, Shanna seeks to capture intimate imagery that resonates emotionally with her viewers, rather than depicting specific locations. Her paintings are characterized by their complexity, moodiness, and honesty, and are often described as transcendental by those who view them.
Shanna firmly believes that the world, in its current state of turbulence, desperately needs beauty in the form of art, love in the form of relationships, and spiritual uplift through personal connections. She feels that her simple and quiet landscapes serve this need for both herself and her collectors.
American Tonalist Society, Signature Member
Plein Air Painters Of Utah
California Art Club Out Of State Member
Oil Painters Of America, Signature Member
American Impressionist Society, Signature Member
Plein Air Magazine, Feature Article, March 2023
Carl Olson Artful Painter Podcast, 2021
Art Of The West, Feature March, 2020
Western Art Collector, two features July 2019
Southwest Art Magazine, Feature article Feb. 2018
Western Art & Architecture, Ones to Watch Oct/Nov 2017
Western Art Collector - article 2018
Plein Air Magazine - Feature Article, December 2016
Outdoor Painter, August 2016
Fine Art Tips of the Masters, North Light Publication
Southwest Art Magazine - May, 2013 article
American Art Collector - April, 2013 article
Western Art Collector - May 2012 article
Southwest Art Magazine - August 2010 feature article, A Tireless Pursuit
Western Art Collector - August 2010 article, December 2010
Western Art Collector – December 2009 feature article
American Art Collector – September 2009 article
Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine – Painting Nature Now, October, 2007
American Artist Magazine - June 2007 , Feature 14 page article
Western Art Magazine – Premier Issue 2007
Artist to Watch – October Issue 2003, Southwest Art Magazine
American Tonalist Society, Salmagundi Club, 2023
Catalina Island Conservancy Wild Side Exhibit and Sale, 2021, 2022
Oil Painters Of America, National Exhibition, Wildhorse Gallery 2022
Oil Painters Of America, Western Invitational, Illume Gallery 2020
American Impressionist Society National Exhibit 2020, 2021
Hockaday Museum in Kalispell, MT A Timeless Legacy - Best of Show for Body Of Work 2018
American Impressionist Society Exhibit at Salmagundi Club, NYC2019
A Woman's Mark Invitational, Meyer Gallery, Park City, 2019
Oil Painters Of America, National Exhibition, Illume Gallery 2019
Ogden City Mayors Award, Visual Artist Recipient 2018
Museum Of The Mountain Man, Cora, WY 2018, 2019, 2020
Favell Museum, Invitation, Oregon 2018
Mockingbird Gallery, Two Person Show, May 2018, December 2020
American Impressionist Society Exhibit/member 2016, panel member
Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational 2017, 2018
Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painter Art for the Parks 2016, 2017
Olmsted Plein Air Exhibit & Sale, Atlanta, GA 2017
Maynard Dixon Country, Exhibit and Symposium Panel 2018
Plein Air Magazine Salon, Third Place Overall 2015 April/May
C. M. Russell Auction and Sale, Great Falls, MT March 2015
Maynard Dixon Camp Out, Mt. Carmel, UT May 2015, 2016
The Coors National Stock Show - Coors Show Club Artist 2014
Mountain Song Gallery - Carmel, CA - Powered by Nature Invitational - Apr 2013
Western Masters Invitational - Mar 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Sedona Plein Air Invitational 2013
Art in Embassy Exhibit, Kuwait
Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art – April 2011, April 2012
Maynard Dixon Country Invitational 2010 – Guest Artist
Jackson Wildlife Museum Western Visions Miniature Show 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Raymar Art Competition Finalist Dec 2010, Mar 2011
Mountain Trails Gallery, Park City – Solo Exhibit Dec. 2009, 2010, 2011
Kneeland Gallery, - Three Person Gallery 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibit 2009
Paint the Parks Exhibition and Competition 2009
Contemporary Art of the American West Invitational, Palm Springs, 2008
Jackson Fall Arts Festival Quickdraw Participant 2007, 2008, 2009
Artists of the New Century, Bennington Ctr for Arts – Fine Art Connoisseur Award 2006
Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT – Two person exhibit, February 2007, 2008
Kneeland Gallery, Ketchum, ID Plein Air Exhibit August,2004 - 2013
Mountain Trails Gallery, Palm Desert, CA – Solo Exhibit 2006
Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT - Solo Exhibit, February 2005, 2006, 2007
Kneeland Gallery – Three Person Show, March 2005, 2006
Tucker Gallery, Chicago, IL – Two Person Exhibit, April 2005, 2006
Meyer Gallery, Jackson, WY – Solo Exhibit, July 2004, 2005
Kneeland Gallery – Plein Air Invitational Show, August 2004, 2005, 2006
Meyer Gallery, Scottsdale AZ – The Color of Mood, Invitational Exhibit, May 2004
Principle Gallery, Alexandria VA – Two Person Show, April 2004
Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT – Two Person Show, Feb. 2004
Kneeland Gallery – Three Person Show, Feb. 2004
Meyer Gallery, Jackson, WY – Two Person Show, 2003, 2004
Howard/Mandville 13th Annual Miniature Show, November, 2003 - Kirkland, WA
Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT – Two Person Show, December 2002
Hockaday Museum in Kalispell, MT A Timeless Legacy - Best of Show for Body Of Work 2018
Ogden City Mayors Award, Visual Artist Recipient 2018
