Caution:Artist at Play-Artwork by Shana Rowe Jackson

Hello everybody and Happy 2017!! I have had a lot of questions lately about how long I have been an artist, and how I decided to get into art. I started saving my artwork and scrapbooking it by the time I was 8 or 9 years old, and since it is a new year, I thought it would be fun to share some of that artwork with all of you. I decided to choose one piece for each year that I have been creating. Even though I have created everything from landscapes, to portraits to animals, I decided to keep the theme to people to keep it more cohesive. There were some years that I did not have a lot of artwork depicting people to choose from, so I decided to share whatever I had, even if it was not my best . Here is my newest YouTube video, I hope you enjoy!!  For more on my artwork or for prints feel free to visit my website!

     Spring has finally sprung, and that means flowers, green grass, blue skies and beautiful weather. This kind of beautiful weather means the opportunity to get out and paint something wonderful. The apple tree in my front yard has been a great inspiration for many of my works in the past, and recently the apple blossoms have been in full bloom, making it a perfect subject for my newest painting. The sky was an awesome blue, and I was so eager to get out and paint that I forgot sunblock until it was a bit too late (big mistake...ouch!!) but I had a wonderful time, and in the end it was all worth it. I didn't realize how much I had missed my acrylic paints!! They lend themselves perfectly to painting outside, I just kept a little water on hand in case it got too breezy causing the paint to dry too fast on the pallet. Sometimes the perfect subject can be right in front of you, in your own yard. I found a day of painting outside was very therapeutic, and fed my soul. The finished p

Just Me © Shana L Rowe Jackson Phew...Time really flies!! It has been far too long since I have written. I have had a lot going on lately and it has been a whirlwind. Most recently I have been getting myself prepared to go back to school. I will be starting in the fall to get my Bachelors in Art, very exciting and nerve wracking but I am ready to start this new chapter in my life. In between work and preparing for school I have been falling deeper in love with colored pencils! May 8th was my one year anniversary with this medium! I have been delving into realism, and my skills as an artist have really grown. My interest lately has been portraiture, but I really love drawing anything that comes up. I think I have found my medium of choice! As an artist I am always growing and experimenting though, so check back in a few months and that may change :). It's funny because I went a very long time always painting and never drawing, and now it seems I always draw and never

I just ordered my first few copies of my calendars for 2015, and can start taking orders at anytime. Calendars will be $15.00 ea (additional shipping charges may apply). Here are the previews for each calendar!! Email me at shanaroweart@gmail.com or shanarowejackson05@aol.com for more information or to order a calendar.   In other exciting news, one of my colored pencil drawings, "Being a Girl" made it into the gallery section of the September 2014 issue of colored pencil magazine!!! "Being a Girl" 11"x14" © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2014 To get prints of this drawing click on the picture of it above!! For more information about Colored Pencil Magazine, and the September 2014 issue or to get copies of it , click the link below. Colored Pencil Magazine

  Wow!! It has been a long time since I have written!! So sorry I haven't been around much! I have been quite busy lately, and was having a few computer problems for a while, but now I am back online! Unfortunately I have been working a lot at my day job so I haven't had a whole lot of time to create :( but have managed to get caught up on some reading so I can learn new techniques, and also bought some new art supplies to try out, can't wait to get the time!! Now that spring is here I am so full of inspiration I don't know what to do with myself and can't wait to try some new things and share them with the world!!  I have been able to get a few things done since the last time I posted, including a new addition to my "Life in the 'Dale" series, some more from my "Freedom Fairies" Collection and a commission! Here they are! "Free as St. Patrick's Luck" 11"x14" acrylic © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2014(Click for prints)

  It has been a little bit since my last post so I figured I'd check in with what has been going on in my world. It has been a busy 2014 so far between commissions, series work, advertising and my day job. I have added more to my "Life in the 'Dale" series, and have added a new series to my freedom fairies collection called "Free as Celebration" where each fairy represents a holiday! I have started exploring pastels again and been trying new pastel supports with much personal success. I have been updating my print site as well, taking new photos of my work for better clarity, adding older artworks, and promoting like crazy!! Here is a glimpse at what I have been up to while I've been away from my blog!! Commissions- "Breelynn" 16"x20" Acrylic © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2014 "Shaggy Dog" 11"x14" acrylic © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2014 "Mount Washington" 12"x14" Acrylic © Shana L Rowe

10 Reasons Why We Need Art "Before the Music Died" © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2012   History . Since the dawn of time art has served as a pictorial guide to where we originate from.   From the earliest cave drawings, to religious paintings and everything in between it has served as a way to look back in time and see how different cultures lived, what they went through and how we have grown as a species.        Cultural and political expression . Art serves as a very important purpose when it comes to getting a certain message out. If you look at art from specific cultures you can learn a lot about that culture and the way they live. From longstanding traditions to political views, if it is important to said culture chances are it has been depicted in their art. Street art is a good example of this, as it often expresses the needs of the community in which it originates.       Therapy. Art is proven to be therapeutic, both in the creation of it and in be

"The Big Countdown" First Painting of 2014!! "Free as a New Years Resolution"  Well, another year has passed! 2013 was an interesting year for me with a lot of ups and downs personally and financially but overall I had a lot to be grateful for, especially with my art. I participated in my first gallery show in 2013, and was a part of three in all. I have my work displayed at the Maine State Capital building in their Senate Republican office and at a local restaurant, also firsts for me. I believe I reached new heights as far as technique goes, I was able to explore more in oils, which has been a wonderful experience, and have grown in realism technique. I started two new series', My "Summer Flight" series and my "Revival" project. I added multiple paintings to my "Life in the 'Dale" series making it my largest ever series, and my Freedom Fairies Collection, making it a close second. Recently I have been getting b

  "My life As a Painter" Self portrait 20"x20" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2013   One of the things I love the most about being an artist is being able to set my own hours. This is great in theory, but not having a set plan for the day can often lead to procrastination and cause important tasks to build up, which will become over whelming. I don't want my passion to feel like too much work!! So to try to curb this at the end of each day I make a mental list of the goals I want to complete the next day. These goals can be something as little as putting a hanger on a painting, doing a blog post, or entering a new contest to as big as starting a new painting. I also factor in house hold chores on my list too. The important thing is to do something to promote and support my art each day. I find this helps me plan out my day a head of time so that I can do something creative each day, and not get over whelmed by how much I need to do. Doing a few things each da