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ABOUT SHANNON ABBEY
Contemporary Realism: Pet Portraits by Shannon Abbey
Shannon Abbey is a contemporary painter/illustrator who lives and works in Petaluma, California with her cartoonist husband, Pete McDonnell and their son, Jacob.
Abbey was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Pullman, Washington. She graduated from Western Washington University in Bellingham with a degree in visual communications. While at Western, she took a figure drawing class and quickly discovered that drawing was her talent. After college, Abbey attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Fresh out of school her first job was working for I. Magnin creating quick pastels of women for the store's cosmetics promotions.
Abbey’s affinity for drawing and painting animals, birds, fish and nature in general stems from her childhood, hunting and fishing with her father. The family always had hunting dogs, which she considered her best friends. In the studio these days Shannon is assisted by her English Setter mix, Molly.
Shannon Abbey is best known for her expressive and vivid animal portraiture. Her masterful painting style, her strong drawing skills and her ability to capture the inner and outer personality of her subjects makes these paintings much more than a likeness of a beloved family member.
Shannon is inspired by the traditional techniques of Old Masters Portraiture and Contemporary Realism of Northern California. Her paintings are exhibited in numerous private collections and collectors include some of the top dog breeders in the United States, Australia and in the United Kingdom.
Shannon is an artist member of the AKC Museum of the Dog, and was chosen as the official artist of the postponed Cavaliers of the West Specialty Show for 2020.
Illustration clients include Pottery Barn, The Wall Street Journal, The Gap and At&t.
Pet Portraits on Facebook
As a result of the Covid-19 Shelter in Place guidelines, and seeing musicians, actors and other painters being Covid heroes and posting fun stuff, I am creating and posting (almost) daily pet portrait painting videos! Each day I choose a new photo to paint. Join me now.