Shannon Fannin

Who are we when nobody is looking? Most of us go about our lives often concealing our inner selves from the world. One indication of our true personality, is the car we drive or even dream of someday owning. Similar to the abstracted images visible in chrome or carbon fiber, outside influences manipulate and form our character.

I believe that cars are more than appliances to get us from Point A to B – they are mobile sculptures that reflect the journeys of their travelers in both reality and dream. Just as we focus on the curvaceous figure of a beautiful model, we admire cars for their initial appearance – drawn in by beauty but captivated by depth of character. My art reveals the hidden stories and nuances of each automotive personality to the viewer.

To truly connect with the physical realm of each vehicle, I manipulate the canvas with brush, fingers and hands. Every abstract line, smudge and dull shadow is a hint into the vastness of the story unfolding. From a distance, the viewer believes one perception, upon approach, more is revealed – the lie their eyes have told them becomes a reality. Incomplete visage is manipulated by the observer’s own imagination – tree becomes smear, human becomes segmented shapes, the story something new with each step.

My paintings marry nostalgia for cars with the love of art. My art is a collision of the human components of imagination and fantasy garnering a visual and emotional response from both car and art lovers alike.

Shannon was born in Long Beach, California. She earned a college scholarship to pursue an art teaching degree for teaching special needs children. However, life had other plans. She put becoming an artist on hold for marriage, a career in marketing, and raising a family. Using her portfolio for a resume, she taught elementary school art for two years through a private academy.

After a 25yr hiatus from an art career, Shannon returned to school to refresh her abilities. She took a handful of courses to reacquaint herself with mediums, and started to build on her expressionistic style. Being a great fan of color, Shannon prefers working large in many media including: pastel, charcoal, watercolor, gouache, ink, and acrylic, and usually combines many of them in mixed media pieces. She enjoys bringing chrome and carbon fiber alive through her vehicle paintings, conveying the human form and imagined still lifes. Her eclectic nature allows her to create work that simply makes her happy. She lives in Austin with her husband of 26yrs and their college student son.