Carol Joy Shannon

Painting was not my first life's work, but it has fed my family for the last 20 years, and I am proud of that. I came to it late, with a lifetime of travel and stories to paint. I worked hard at them, full time all the time and the reward was that people liked my stories -- so I kept painting them. They've shown in museums and galleries, sold to cities and corporations, and to thousands of individuals all over the world who loved them and put them in their homes. I consider myself blessed.

I am a self-taught painter but I've worked with artists from around the country and the world, in the groups and galleries I was associated with in the Raleigh art community, and put in the 10,000 hours of application to my craft many times over. I've also taken advantage of some of the best critique groups any artist could want, including 200 hours of a critique group led by Benjamin Forrest Williams, a painter who studied under Matisse at the Louvre School, and who was the first curator of the NC Museum of Art. But my best education has always been my own wonder and awe, at God's creation around us.

Exhibitions in group and solo shows during my years in the Raleigh art community are numerous and include the first Artist Challenge:Frank Stella at the NC Museum of Art, Art of the State/State of the Art at the Cameron Museum in Wilmington, Mid-Century Modern in Roseville CA, solo shows at the 311 West Martin Gallery, the Miriam Block Gallery, the Durham Convention Center and others. My work is currently GEO Galleries and here at Saatchi Art!