Shawn Marie Hardy profile picture

Shawn Marie Hardy

Well-behaved women rarely make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

About Me

Please check out this video that was aired on CNN's NANCY GRACE show on April 21st, 2008. I'm a finalist in her EXTRAORDINARY PARENT contest, for my work with OUR CHILDREN: Honor With Art. Go to: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/01/NancyGraceExtraordinaryPare ntContestFinalists/index.html

then click on SHAWN'S STORY
Listen to my interview on ZNE here: ZNE - MUSINGS WITH CHEL at BlogTalkRadio

I am a self-representing artist and proud, award-winning and juried member of the online art community EBSQ. Click RIGHT HERE - AND I MEAN RIGHT HERE to view my portfolio. I'm also the author of a couple short stories and some poetry that you can find in my blog - just click the link above. Thanks to Colin White for his wonderful illustrations.
All images are copyright protected and remain with the artist - please don't use them without permission.

From 2006: "Ruth's Garden" , 24 x 30", Golden acrylics, photo images, silver leaf, embroidery floss, silver & rhinestone brooch, vintage magazine clippings, and magic on canvas board
My latest finished piece: "Somewhere Between the Outback and a Dream" , 9 x 12", Golden acrylics, photo images, and magic on canvas board
Another recent work "In Her Land of Solemn Secrets" , 24 x 30", Golden acrylics, photo images, image transfers, silver leaf, and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.
A work in progress: "untitled" , 24 x 30", Golden acrylics and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.
and more: "The Quiet of the Night's Descent" , 16 x 16", Golden acrylics, photo images, image transfer, silver leaf, and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.
And a piece inspired by the mysteries of life: "Serefina's Dream" , 24 x 30", Golden acrylics, photo images, image transfer, silver leaf, vintage earrings, and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.
Here is a piece inspired by Jon Woode's song of the same title: "The Beauty and The Tenderness" , 8 x 10", Golden acrylics, photo images, and magic on canvas board.
Tornado anyone? How about this one: "The Storm Chasers" , 8 x 10", Golden acrylics, photo images, and magic on canvas board.
My largest painting to date: "People Tell Stories" , 30 x 30", Golden acrylics, vintage greeting card, silver leaf, photo images and magic on canvas board.
Recently finished: To The Wisdom Of Youth , 8 x 10", Golden acrylics, image transfer, photo images and magic on canvas board.
And two more recent pieces - The Temptress at Twilight , 24 x 30", Golden acrylics, image transfer, silver leaf, photo images and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.
And: Calling Heaven , 24 x 24", Golden acrylics, image transfer, silver leaf, photo images and magic on gallery-wrapped canvas.

Interested in having a commissioned piece done? Just ask!

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For prints and other goodies go to:
Imagekind or Cafepress To find out how you can help missing and exploited children click on: or go to www.honorwithart.com
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CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT DATING GODOT, THE BAND I WAS IN WHEN I LIVED IN NEW ZEALAND.

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A LITTLE HISTORY
I am fortunate to have been brought into the world by two very creative parents so it was inevitable that I would have an interest in art. Most of what I know is self-taught, although I did spend one school year totally immersed in art classes at the City College of San Francisco from 1993 to 1994. Afterwards I spent the next several years traveling throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. In the interim I had my daughter, Ella, my current muse.
I create images that are emotive and tantalizing - impressions representing the core of my imagination, from transient thoughts and deep-rooted memories to endured tribulations. I am fascinated by dreams and the haunting images the mind conjures up while we're asleep. Most of my work is as spontaneous as these unconsious images and I tend to work directly on the canvas, rather than drawing a preliminary study or mixing paints separately on a palette.
I am also interested in spiritualism - not necessarily in the sense that the living communicate with the dead, but more in the sense that I question where our energy goes after we die. In the wonderment of these questions I create dreamy landscapes that represent the state of passing from present life into the next state of being. They are both light and dark, depicting both joy and melancholy, often with the focal point being a window of light or an ethereal, winged being on a path into the unknown. I sometimes incorporate copies of vintage photos into these landscapes - visages of unknown people who have passed on, in order to give them a purpose and to honor those lives that are long forgotten.
I am a perpetual student of art and art history and I continue to study the work of masters, past and present. I am inspired by many great artists and it is my talented uncle, Mark Esper, who gave me my very first drawing lesson and whose own work has been instrumental in fueling my desire to persevere in this challenging career.
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FOR GREAT MIXED-MEDIA ART GO TO:



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My Interests



I am: Mother, artist, musician, free-spirited thinker, problem solver, gypsy, puddle stomper, moon jumper, food junkie, reader, writer, student, teacher, my daughter's hero. I love people, animals, art, melodies, ice-cream, vintage clothes, old books, movies, splashes of color, storm chasing, staying up really really late.
Interests? There are so many: my beautiful daughter Ella, creating art, helping children, philanthropy, promoting the arts, music, writing poetry - stories - songs, singing, museums, books, playing my guitar, experiencing life, happy gardens, fitness, fun houses, melotrons, theremins, my shiny blue metallic Ibanez bass, looking at little things, tornado chasing, watching a good storm, the smell of rain, giraffes, sushi, coffee and tea, good wine, Lindeman's kriek & frambois, cultures of the world, hiking in the rain forest, Australia, kookaburras, emus, kangaroos, New Zealand, coincidences, fossils, Brazil, fruit & vegetables, sitting by the fire, holding hands, memories, the ocean waves, learning to knit, inventing things, people's life stories, outer space, globes & maps, animals and reptiles, blueberry pie, the bottom of the ocean, the wonders of the world, mysteries, the seasons, flowers, dancing barefoot, having my hair brushed, pasta, Christmas, finally learning to swim, significant others, the pursuit of happiness, sparkly twinkly things, fireworks, optical illusions, things in 3-D, pop-up books, good shoes, flowery twirly dresses, silver jewelry, lipstick, rock formations, fireflies, old churches and abbeys, Lanercost Priory, the Cumbria district, London, tunnels of trees, driving, cats & dogs, insects, fairies, fairy lights, the Northern lights, butterflies & dragonflies, ponds, shells, stones, found objects, falling stars and wishing on them, a good film, travel, forensic science, mountain-climbing (but only in my dreams), old friends, new friends, passion, hugs, people with a zest for life, positive thinkers, strong women, honesty, respect,integrity Watch the movie I was in, "Farion's Gift," in it's entirety at http://www.farionsgift.com/ - here is an excerpt:
A recent charcoal/graphite drawing "I SHALL BE KING!"
Here is the FINISHED back cover of the altered book for HONOR WITH ART - see my blog for details...

...and a piece inspired by my daughter

OTHER INTERESTS: Making the world a better place
Current video faves - like this one of Richard Davies with The Flaming Lips

And this one by Nick Cave and P.J. Harvey
From the good old days - good friends The Feelies
The Feelies -
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The Feelies - "White Light White Heat"
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A couple new, old favorite songs by Sandy Denny:

I'd like to meet:

Other artists, musicians, poets, gypsies, bohemians, magic-makers, stormchasers, storytellers, philosophers, comedians, philanthropists, and travelers.

Reconstructed from vintage doll parts and found objects - my OOAK (one-of-a-kind) Art Dolls

Check out my items at: Cafepress
Featured item:

FAVORITE LINKS:
http://zneiscrafty.ning.com
http://www.ebsqart.com/
http://mistymawn.typepad.com
http://www.mosshillstudio.com
http://www.devine-art.com
http://www.caseymatthews.com
http://www.johnborrero.com/main.html

Music:

My other MySpace pages:
www.myspace.com/honorwithart
www.myspace.com/richarddavies
www.myspace.com/datinggodot
www.myspace.com/top8galleryone
www.myspace.com/theaccidentalarteest
www.myspace.com/yungwumusic

Just a bit of the music I love: Twinkly but eerie carnival music, my dear friend-the amazing Jason Becker, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Richard Davies, The Moles, Cardinal, Dating Godot, The Feelies, Yung Wu, Bob Fay, Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Guided By Voices, Malcolm Travis, Eric Matthews, Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour, Judee Sill, Don McGlashen & the Mutton Birds, Stephen Malkmus, Pavement, The Shins, Spoon, Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, The Honkers, Jorge Ben, Fernando Brant, Beto Guedes, Paula Morelenbaum, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto, a lot of Brazilian Bossa Nova, Samba, etc., Selda Bagcan, Bulgarian Folk Music (most folk music), Kathleen Yearwood, Lloyd Cole, Ed Kuepper, The Marmalade, The Modern Lovers, Morgana King, Mable John, Mercedes Sosa, Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone, David Werner, Nick Drake, The Monochrome Set, My Morning Jacket, Hugh Masekela, Dave Pike, The Beatles, Genesis (the early years), Big Star, Mountain Goats, Voom, Bob Mould, Husker Du, Grant Hart, Lindsay Buckingham, The Verlaines, Graeme Downes, Tall Dwarfs, Chris Knox, Dimmer, Abel Tasmans, JPSE, The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, David Kilgour, Bailterspace, Look Blue Go Purple, The Lils, Goldbug, Straitjacket Fits, Neil Finn, Neutral Milk Hotel, Son Volt/Jay Farrar, Wilco, Durutti Column, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Earth Wind & Fire, The Isley Brothers, Olivia Tremor Control, Wire, Comsat Angels, The Jam, The Who, Nick Cave, Roger "Syd" Barrett, Pink Floyd (early stuff), Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, Yes, ELP, Mecca Normal, Miriam Makeba, King Crimson, Bodine, Dennis Wilson, Quartet Tres Bien, Elton John, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Sly & the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Gnarls Barkley

Here's a long-lost friend, Daniel Harnett:

have a listen to Judee:

watch Don McGlashen's new video:
- here - check out GBV & "THE OFFICIAL IRONMAN RALLY SONG": ..,

Movies:

Eastern Promises, Down To the Bone, Michael Clayton, Deep Water, Ratatouille, The Illusionist, Pan's Labyrinth, United 93, Supersize Me, Touching the Void, Rain, The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover, Two-Lane Blacktop, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, Death In Venice, Babette's Feast, Animal House, Brazil, The Pianist, The Shawshank Redemption, Breaking the Waves, Sexy Beast, An Angel at My Table, Memento, anything Alfred Hitchcock, Gaslight, John Garfield movies, The Manchurian Candidate (original), A History of Violence, Cape Fear (the original with Robert Mitchum), William Castle films, Carnival of Souls, This is Spinal Tap, The Usual Suspects, anything by Ingmar Bergman, The Piano, Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Hotel Rwanda, Resevoir Dogs, Magnolia, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, The Green Mile, Gladiator, The Deer Hunter, A Christmas Story, The Full Monty, It's a Wonderful Life, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Muriel's Wedding, The Party, The Pink Panther, Harold and Maude, Stranger than Paradise, Down By Law, Heavenly Creatures, Sling Blade, Office Space, Don't Look Now, The Others...

Television:

British Comedy - The League of Gentlemen, Fawlty Towers, The Honeymooners, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Night Gallery, Everest, I Shouldn't Be Alive, The Sopranos, X Files, Twin Peaks, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Frazier, Animal Planet, The History Channel, Candid Camera, The Avengers, The Prisoner, The Saint, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, Land of the Giants, Dark Shadows, The Munsters, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Emergency, Thunderbirds, Underdog, Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes & Merry Melodies...

Books:

Honor Killing, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, And I Alone Survived, Into Thin Air, Alive, The Stranger Beside Me, The Perfect Storm, Notes From a Small Island, Man's Search For Meaning, The San Francisco Earthquake, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Somerset Studio magazine, Arts and Antiques magazine, National Geographic, Where the Wild Things Are, The Moon Jumpers (illustrated by Maurice Sendak), 1984, Notes From New Zealand, Frog and Toad (all their adventures), Alice in Wonderland, The Anything Box, We Have Always Lived In the Castle, The October Country, The Secret Garden, Cordury, A Summertime Song, The Underwater Melon Man, anything by Keri Hulme, ...

Heroes:

MY DAUGHTER, ELLA

My Blog

CNN’s Nancy Grace Show tonight

Hey there everyone! Just a quick update on this CNN thing. It has happened very quickly and I have worked with the one of the producers of the show, Naomi Goldstein, over the last few days, to get thi...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:56:00 PST

Shameless Self Promotion, Part I

I have worked hard all day to upload new items into my Etsy store, revamp my ZNE page, and to try and promote prints and greeting cards at my Imagekind store.  Greeting cards are a great way to h...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:10:00 PST

Just bringing some creative writing to the surface

O.K. I should probably write some new stuff, but I don't have time so I thought I'd bring this up to the top again.  In case someone is looking... When the Moon is Blueby Shawn Marie Hardyillustr...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:37:00 PST

EXHIBITION AND SILENT AUCTION IN SAN FRANCISCO TOMORROW!

click arthead SF's contributing artists will auction off artwork to raise money for kiva.org.Participating artists include: Beth Bojarski, John Casey, Micke Tong, Tiffany Schmierer, Noah Biel, Rene ...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:09:00 PST

Some Publicity in the ODT for SPRUNG! at the Masonic Lodge in Port Chalmers

Hey all Dunedinites! Check out the Otago Daily Times today. Our first bit of publicity for SPRUNG, the art and music exhibition at the Masonic Lodge in Port Chalmers.  Opening is on Friday, 14 D...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:55:00 PST

Dunedin - the first week

I'm already at the end of the 4th day of our trip and we've done a ton of stuff! We lifted off from Portland, OR at about 3:50 p.m. on Saturday and landed in Dunedin at about 9:10 a.m. on Monday. Of ...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:09:00 PST

Off to New Zealand for the rest of the year!

Well, the time has come and Ella and I will be on a big plane headed over the sea to New Zealand. We leave on Saturday, Nov. 17th and arrive in Dunedin on Monday at 9:00 a.m.  Sounds bad, but we...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:32:00 PST

Hospitalized

Hospitalization is a drag.  I just got home from the hospital after being there for three days.  I have been fainting lately - something I've never dealt with before and because I have somet...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:27:00 PST

A poem for Ella

ELLALovely sweetsmiling faceDancing, SingingStyle and graceRainforest girllizards and frogsAnimal loverrats, cats, dogsImaginationFairy WingsStoryteller of wonderful thingsMovies and music,and ice-cr...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:04:00 PST

Funny Names

I was just remembering a telmarketing job I had that only lasted a week because I laughed too much.  I worked with 9 other young people, calling and harrassing poor citizens at dinner time about ...
Posted by Shawn Marie Hardy on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:10:00 PST