Sunsets and Springtime: Paintings by Shawn Beasley

On Exhibit in the Glass Display Cases, April 4th thru April 28th.

My first show at ACPL was in September of 2020. I’m not sure that many saw it aside from the staff, myself and a few crickets. It was originally scheduled for April of that year; a month after Covid shut everything down. Preparing and setting up were all good experiences.

Two and a half years later I am still painting. I definitely see myself steadily growing and improving. I haven’t compared paintings side by side but that would probably prove it. I’m definitely getting faster at it. More than just saving time, it also means that I’m spending less time fussing over the results which is something I’m striving for.

I’m slowly moving beyond just painting what I see and am starting to “push” the result away from exact reality. I think that’s where creativity and artistic expression start to take over. I’m experimenting more with color and textures. I’m not throwing paint or drizzling it on yet. I still want things to be very recognizable but definitely don’t want to replicate what a camera can do.

I feel like I’m finally honing the talent that I was born with. I’ve always had ability and creativity but nothing makes you better like practice! Like everyone else, I typically have too many irons in the fire but I intend to keep making art a priority.

--Shawn Beasley

Our Meet the Artists event is Tuesday, April 11th at 6:00pm.