Shannon Ford
Shannon Ford lives and paints on Denman Island, near Vancouver Island. She creates her acrylic paintings inspired by her horses and other animals on her ranch, as well as the wildlife of Western Canada. Her paintings feature bold colour palettes and are executed with large, expressive brushstrokes.
Shannon Ford - Grace, Beauty, Spirit & Freedom
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Shannon Ford now resides in British Columbia, in the west coast community of Denman Island.
Background and career
Shannon Ford graduated from the Metalsmithing Faculty of The Alberta College of Art in 1982. Twenty-two years later, in 2004, she chose to once again attend the Alberta College of Art and Design to receive her Bachelor of Fine Art Degree.
As an interdisciplinary artist, Shannon truly has her own distinctive manner and style. Her success as an award winning jeweler and sculptor for over 30 years has greatly influenced her works on canvas; She makes her own gemstone powder pigments and layers them into her acrylic paintings, giving them a unique surface and essence. Sometimes she incorporates 24k gold in her works.
Another element gleaned from those years of working with the conceptual thought process of creating 3D work is her painting being inspired by the physical-space of sculpture;
(…) When I paint, I think like a sculptor. Creating the illusion of 3 dimensions on a 2 dimensional space, my imagination runs wild. I walk around, I look inside, and I notice what's around the corner. I am fascinated by the way the surface of an object can disappear - just by the way it is painted.
Her work and art
(...) my work is a mirror of what I am surrounded with... the people I love, our horses, the wild animals, even our ranch animals all find their way into my artwork.
Shannon's source of inspiration for equine art is right outside her door, and greets her with a nicker every morning. On their ranch, she and her husband are committed to breeding Mangalarga Marchadors, which are the National Horse of Brazil and -she quotes- one of the most amazing breeds one can meet! In addition to having her own beautiful horses, she often arranges with local breeders and trainers to paint and draw their horses.
Shannon's art is painted in imaginative colours, with expressive brush strokes and involves shape relationships with creation of light, atmosphere, space and movement through colour vibration and harmonies. She specializes in illusary surfaces, and incorporates a number of self learned techniques to establish this mystery into her paintings.
For Shannon Ford, each painting feels like a captured moment, giving an experience of light and lightness. Her painting invites the viewer to participate, to come forth and explore this dimension, which is at once distinct and innovative.
Shannon Ford is represented by the Au P'tit Bonheur Art Gallery since December 2012, exclusively for Eastern Canada.
