Always different. Always the same.

Shanon Playford lives and paints in her hometown of Portland, Ore.
When she’s not in Greece.

EPIKOS - An Incomplete Travelogue

A series of paintings based on photos taken from our travels – An incomplete travelogue.

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Neither Here Nor There

A series of paintings loosely based on theme of the “journey,” made for an exhibit at Springbox Gallery.

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Oh My Gods!

“Oh My Gods!” — Paintings from Greek Mythology based on both contemporary & classical figures.

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Out of Our Heads

“Out of Our Heads” is an ongoing series of fantastical portraits.

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Nauticarum Societatis Occultae

Commemorative paintings of shipwrecks commissioned by the Nautical Brotherhood. Exhibited as part of the Secret Society show at Springbox Gallery, Portland.

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Minor Series, Older Work, Miscellaneous

A rotating collection of older works, classics, small series, one-offs, and other paintings.

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About the Artist

Shanon Playford

Shanon paints in her native Portland, Oregon.

She received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and attended the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Bio & CV

Tin House Cover — JAKOB VALA

“The cover of Tin House’s 2015 Summer Reading issue features Shanon Playford’s Nereid, a painting from her Oh My Gods! series of classical figures depicted through modern imagery. In Greek mythology, the Nereids were the fifty daughters of Doris, a sea nymph, and Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. They were also companions of Poseidon and patrons of sailors—guiding them through tumultuous seas to safe shores.”

Open Studio

October 12/13, 19/20 2019

Match Boxes

Neither Here Nor There

Springbox Gallery, Portland, Oregon

The Women - Installed

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“I am a painting chameleon. Rather than bend a subject to my whims, I am inclined to let the idea or subject dictate the style of each painting or series I produce. It’s not that I don’t know what I want – it’s that I want everything. ”

“In my younger years, I thought I was working towards an end, exploring various styles. But in my maturity, I realize that exploring styles is my style. And that no matter what, “you cannot hunt your nature.” If I have one constant, it is a love of the surface, the poetry and sensual nature, the thin skin of a painted thing.”

“Owing to an interest in art history and contemporary culture, Shanon Playford is something of a painting chameleon. She allows her ideas and subjects to dictate the style and approach taken for each new series. Her work demonstrates an unstoppable curiosity for the “what if.”

“Embracing inconsistency as her signature style, she identifies herself as a project/theme-oriented artist. Shanon works primarily in oil. She infuses her work with a keen knowledge of – and playful irreverence to – traditional skills and techniques.”

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