Shima Shanti
Biography
Shima Shanti has a diverse background that includes education in communication and fine arts from the University of Montana and Eastern Montana College in the 1970s. She received further training from various organizations, including the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, The PACE Organization in Palm Springs, and the Fails Management Institute in San Diego. From 1985 to 2008, and specialized in management, leadership, business administration, acquisition, and sales, marketing, product development, and events management. In 2010, she began working as a writer, author, and publisher. More recently, in 2016, her work focused on an encaustic works.
Born: 1954, California
Artist Statement
I am an Encaustic painter, working in the ancient art form of painting with beeswax and fusing with fire. I paint visions of Peace. Water in motion and Spirit flow through my paintings delving into what lies beyond appearance, free of the confines of perception. My art is my connection to Spirit; an open-eye meditation.
I do not think about what I am painting, rather, I allow the energy in each artwork to convey its own feeling to capture the heart of the beholder. My aesthetic is minimal and simple in composition. My earth-tone palette is neutral, deep, and rich. In this simplicity, unexpected levels of complexity surface.
The revelation is mystical. Every brushstroke and pass of the torch ask for a choice; and each choice, as in life, affects the whole; creating patina and texture that is storied, translucent, and luminous. It has taught me to treasure imperfection and the spontaneity of life.
I hold a special reverence for the unseen details in the complex and labor-intensive encaustic process; believing the energy I infuse into each painting stirs something within us, awakens us, and beckons us to linger a moment longer in our shared appreciation of art. My choice of all natural earth elements—organic beeswax, earth pigments, fir-tree sap called Damar, and Baltic birch panels—is a quiet whisper to the authenticity and integrity of my work.
My inspiration is borne from growing up in the abundance of water and endless big sky of Montana that has forever connected me to nature and gifted me with an innate sense of color and composition. Today, in the lakeside hamlet of Del Dios near San Diego, the timeless joy of lost hours in my studio and the simple pleasures of the outdoors, balance the business demands and travel of my artist career.
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
- Leaping Lotus/Assi Design Center, Solana Beach, California, August 25-26, 2018
- Escondido Arts Partnership, Escondido, California, April – October 2018
- Lincoln Experience Center, Newport Beach California, July 19, 2018
- IKAT & Pearls Gallery, Ventura, California, June 16, 2018
- Emerald C Gallery, Coronado, California, November 2017
- ArtBeat on Main Street, Vista, California, Masters of Men & Spirit, September –
October 2016 - Refresh Rx, San Diego, California, June – September 2016
Juried Exhibitions
- “Quarantine Aquamarine” Ashton Gallery-Art on 30th, San Diego, California,
September 2020, Susan Sims, art collector – Juror - ACA Art Comes Alive, October 2019, Cincinnati, Ohio
- “Summation,” Escondido Municipal Gallery, Escondido, California, December 2018,
Will Gibson – Juror - “Survey of Contemporary Encaustic,” Chaffey Museum, Ontario, Calendar, January –
March 2019 - “Papered,” Ashton Gallery, San Diego, California, September 2018, Valentine
Viannay – Juror - “Bees and Wax,” Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, Arizona, September-October 2018,
Sherrie Posternak – Juror - “Endless Possibilities,” Las Lagunas Gallery, Laguna Beach, California, August 2018
- “Going Green,” Art on 30th, San Diego, California, July 2018, Brenda York – Juro
- “Creamsicle,” Art on 30th, San Diego, California, June 2018, Tina and Craig
Abernathy – Jurors - One of a Kind Chicago, Merchandise Mart, April 27-29, 2018
- The Beverly Hills Art Show, May 19-20, 2018
- The Contemporary Crafts Market, Pasadena, California, October 2018
- West Coast Fiber & Book Arts, Escondido Arts Partnership, Escondido, California,
September 2016, Michael Rohde – Juror - Making Your Mark, International Encaustic Artists/Encaustic Art Institute, Santa Fe,
New Mexico, September 2016, David Limrite – Juror - 34th Annual Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts, September 2016, Steve Henderson –
Juror - Vista Civic Center, Vista, California, August- October 2016
- “Rock the Red,” Art on 30th, San Diego, California, February 2016, Alessandra
Moctezuma – Juror “The Sunny Side of the Street,” May 2016 “It Figures,” June
2016, Stephanie Goldman – Juror - Bigfork Arts & Cultural Center (BACC), Spring Members Show, Bigfork, Montana,
April 2016 Earthworks – Art in Wood, Metal and Leather, June 2016, Shadowhawke
Garnet – Juror - Contemporary Realism, Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery, Escondido
California, April 2016, Don Manor – Juror Abstracts and Surrealism, June 2016, Duke
Windsor – Juror - “Petal Pushers,” La Jolla Art Association, La Jolla, California, April 2016, Patrick
Mason – Juror - A San Diego State of Mind, June 2016
- Las La Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, California, July 2016
- Mission Federal ArtWalk, San Diego, California, March 2016
- Sage Gallery, Portland, Oregon, June 2016, Clare O’Neill- Juror
- “Putting It Together,” The Foundry Exhibitions, August 12 – September 23, 2016
- ArtBeat on Main Street, Vista, California
Art Fairs & Exhibitions 2023
- Art Palm Beach
- The Palm Beach Art Show
- Art Market San Francisco
- Hamptons Fine Art Fair
- Seattle Art Fair
- RTIA Reno Tahoe International Art Fair
- WestEdge Design Fair, Los Angeles
Art Fairs & Exhibitions 2022
- LA Modern + Contemporary
- Palm Beach Art, Antiques & Jewelry Show
- Art Market San Francisco
- Hamptons Fine Art Fair
- Art Market Hamptons
- Art San Diego
- Art Expo Dallas
- Aqua Art Miami
Fine Art Fairs & Exhibitions 2021
- Red Dot Miami
- Art Expo New York
- High Point Market
- Dallas Design Week & Total Home Market
- Hamptons Fine Art Fair,
Fine Art Fairs & Exhibitions 2020
- Dallas Market Center Gallery
- High Point International
- Art Boca Raton
- Naples Show
- Art Palm Springs
- LA Art Modern & Contemporary
- Art Palm Beach, January 2020
- Palm Beach Modern & Contemporary
Fine Art Fairs & Exhibitions 2019
- Red Dot Miami
- SOFA Chicago
- Art San Diego
- Art Aspen
- Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry
- Jackson Hole Fine Art Fair
- Monaco Yacht Show
- Art Santa Fe
- International Fine Art by Biennial Basel, Switzerland
- International Contemporary Art, Cannes Biennale, France
- Art Expo New York, New York
- Naples Art, Antiques and Jewelry, Florida
- LA Art Show Modern + Contemporary, California