What if you had beautiful, glowing gardens in every room of your house? Peonies in the foyer, anemones in the dining room, hydrangeas beaming a living light in your living room?
Artist Shannon Woodford can grow those gardens and personalize them in every space you choose with naming like Glory Garden, Southern Limelight, Dahlias Divine, Endless Summer. Bonus: you’ll never have to water or prune even one blossom. These blooms are created in everlasting oils.
Shannon’s passion and gifted hands have been immersed in gardens, design, and paint since her early years. She shares, “I’m self-taught. I’ve not had extensive art training.” Whatever she’s done, she’s done it well. She’s right where she should be, doing exactly what she should be doing. The evidence: scores of collectors are demanding more of her work all over the Carolinas and Southeast–as far as Dallas, Texas. In fact, when I interviewed her, she was on the road dropping off work to galleries in Greenville, South Carolina, and Atlanta.
I asked Shannon, “Do you grow all these amazing flowers that you paint? Your garden must be a masterpiece in itself.” She replied, “Everything I have growing is what I paint. I might start with an anemone or a rose that needs pruning. That launches the process.” It’s as though she, the paint, and canvas are in tandem. They take turns as diviner, tapping into just the right color, texture, light, and shape.
She adds, “I love to watch the light and shadows that glide across the flowers.” Afternoon shadows are her favorite. She approaches her subjects as every flower deserves a perfect portrait.
Not surprisingly, she enrolled as a portrait artist in her early twenties. When she figured out how to make flesh tones mixing the three primaries, she said, “I learned a lot. If you can nail mixing skin tones from primaries, you can paint just about anything.”
But it was time to move on to what was deeply calling her: flowers. She believes following the flow applies to everything: family, children, Nature, subjects for painting. For Shannon, going-with-the-flow always works its magic. Interestingly, the first four letters of flowers are flow.
In starting a family, however, the flow required a fertility boost. But after treatment, boom! The Woodfords had four daughters within 3 years (including twins). I’d call that a phenomenal flow. Ages now 11, 10, and 9.
As her kids grew, Shannon managed to homeschool while painting every day. This coming year, the girls move to public school. Two of her daughters were in the backseat while I interviewed. I asked them what they thought of their mom’s renown with this magazine cover (along with many other articles in publications). Olive, her middle child, shruggingly replied, “Well, she’s good, but she’s not Beyonce.” Out of the mouths…
To contact Shannon, visit her website: shannonwoodford.com (see the galleries in which she exhibits). Instagram: woodfordfineart (message her on Instagram, and she’ll reply). Shannon delights in painting commissions. Holidays are coming. Maybe it’s time to envision the perfect garden in your favorite room.
Meet Shannon at The Laurel’s September Cover Artist Reception at High Country Wine and Provisions in Highlands on Tuesday, September 2, 5:30 – 7:00 P.M. – and raise a glass to her. RSVP to info@thelaurelmagazine.com.
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