In the many
years since I have been an artist, my number one comment is “I can’t draw a
stick figure”. This inspired me to create a painting based on that idea. My
first memory of art was coloring and drawing at age 7. Over my elementary and
middle school education, I always took art. I couldn’t get enough of it, but
alas, my mother was not as big a fan of my creativity. She was, and is, a bit
of a clean freak, and was
always concerned about the mess. So growing up as a repressed artist, when it
came time for me to decide on my life’s path, or at least education, I chose to
attend a trade school, and earned an AS in Commercial Art.
This was a wonderful experience, since I not only was around my
own kind, I was learning art every day, and learning something that could earn
me a living. After I graduated, I hesitate to tell you how long ago, but
suffice it to say Madonna was breaking in on the scene, my family moved to
Denver, close to where I was born and I began to freelance in graphic art.
Fortunately, I met a designer friend who was ultimately moving away, and agreed
to give me some of her clients if I got a computer (read Mac) and Pagemaker,
the state-of-the-art desktop publishing program at the time. My Mac had a
screen about 10” across, and was in black and white. I started picking up menu
jobs, and logo jobs, my favorite.
As far as
fine art went, I would paint in my parent’s basement. I created a poster scene
of downtown Denver which I later printed and sold in stores. During the next
years, I joined a group in Denver called the Open Press. It was amazing, since
I could use their monotype printing machines and produce art prints myself. I,
again, met my peeps. I made some nice friends and joined their art exhibits.
As a professional graphic designer, I had hit a wall. Ultimately,
I wanted more education and went back to college and got my BA in
Communications and Oral Theatre at the University of Colorado at Denver. Later,
I went to work for Twins Magazine as a marketing coordinator, and the Denver
Rocky Mountain News as a graphic designer. I worked with Celestial Seasonings
on their packaging design and even Ernst & Young LLP in marketing. All the
while, I would continue to paint.
My painting career ran parallel to my “real job” career. I would
use any opportunity to show my work, having a solo exhibit in restaurants, and
even the exhibit cases at the newspaper building. I would design products, and
tested a couple, selling a good amount of “Caroma” car potpourri at convenience
stores. The entrepreneurial spirit was gaining a foothold.
In 1995 I met my future husband, and got married. We had a son,
and my creative side became geared more towards crayons, until we had our
daughter in 2001. We moved from Denver to Knoxville, Tennessee and I experimented
with a mural in my bedroom. and onto the ceiling, and birdies flying in
the dining room. It was amazing, and FUN. But my wandering ways were to take us
to Orlando, and closer to my newly retired parents. Once settled in our new
home, though, murals were good pay, interesting, and a way for me to stay at
home. I, also, started entering area shows and festivals.
I’ve shown at the Lake Eola Festival, Artistree Co-op Show and the Earth Day celebration. I had my bio
written up in the local East Orlando paper, and got my art published in a
tabletop book called Contemporary Artists. (Click here for link).
Two thousand eight hit everyone hard, and I was no exception. I
divorced, but stayed in close proximity to my ex-spouse, for the kids. My
interests in the spiritual side of life expanded, and in an effort to add to my
income, I took a job at Sea World doing pastel portraits. This was an amazing
job. I loved going in and connecting to tourists from all over the world. I had
actually gotten the job by running into a co-worker from the Rocky Mountain
News whom I’d worked with in Denver.enjoyed the
moments. Not that I hadn’t before, but this was just for me, for play, no
bettering my art, just going back to the basics.
I created a new, youthful, group of artist friends who opened up my art world in Orlando. After the portrait job ran its course, I went over to Café Tutu Tango on International Drive, where they have live painters and artists creating every day in 3 shifts. I was able to do any art I liked, and ended up developing my Birdys series. This led to me giving myself
A funny thing happened in those years, I linked into my inner
child like I never had before, and out came fun, fantastical, whimsical art
that everyone loved. My mother had always told me, “everyone has their own
tastes”. But I don’t remember the last time someone said anything negative
about my art. During this same time, I got involved in a popular pastime which
took off, beading. I would sit in my driveway watching my kids playing, and
bead earrings. I was having so much fun and joy creating bright, whimsical,
childlike art and crafts, I just kept moving forward.
In 2012, I combined my spiritual side, astrology, Reiki and feng
shui interests with art and started Artful Energies. Soon enough, it was
apparent that I needed separate the two for effectiveness. This year, in July, CharmHollow.com
was born. Charm Hollow is my web site which effectively combines my fine art,
serious side, and my irreverent, cartoony side. It allows me to present the plethora
of art and items I have to sell, (just ask anyone who has been to my
home/gallery!) with the child-loving side of my personality. Charm is a sweet
little bunny I drew one day in 2012. She has called to me, inspired me to
create this site, and move forward with my dreams. I am, and will be, creating
friends for Charm. They will be making appearances in the Hollow, and
eventually a book.
In the meantime, I am SO excited to give Charm and Charm Hollow
to the world. She keeps me focused and motivated. So, today, I am neck deep in
online promotion in a new world of search engine optimizations and social media
marketing. Learning as I go, the Mac is still my friend, along with artists,
birds and bunnies. I hope you will take
a look at my labor of love.
Shelley Overton
You can contact Shelley via email at: biz@artfulenergies.com or
at 321-285-2335
on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/charmhollow
1 comment:
Beautiful art and I like the title of the stick figure book.
Nice meeting you, Shelley.
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