Shawnee Mills

It may sound cliche, but I truly do have to be inspired in order to paint. Otherwise, I sit down to my easel, and nothing happens. Music is a large inspiration for my work, but only during the process. It fuels the feeling I have while painting. It moves me to continue. The unwavering inspiration for all of my work, however, is my surrounding. The most prominent being the sea. I am enveloped in the feeling I get when standing next to the ocean - on a stormy day, a dark horizon. The depth and vastness leave me in awe. The inability to imagine something so large and alive keeps me wondering. That wonder draws me to my easel, where I try to convey it on canvas. It is not the sight that inspires, but rather the feeling.

Mounds of practice canvases, piles of ruined brushes, empty paint tubes, sleepless nights and countless hours. Self-taught to the definition.