Today we’d like to introduce you to Shauntel Clements.
Hi Shauntel, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was little, I have loved creating art. My parents loved to describe me as a tornado running through the house, leaving behind crafts and drawings wherever I went.
I was first exposed to fine art through my mom, who studied at an atelier in Salt Lake City taught by Kamille Corry. I loved seeing all of the paintings, anatomy studies, and the smell of oil paints that permeated the building. When I was a teenager, I had the opportunity to be a live model for portrait paintings in a few of their classes. My appreciation for drawing and painting quickly grew as I started to understand the patience, knowledge, and work that went into creating art.
I began studying art seriously at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah in 2017. I honestly believe that Snow College is the greatest place for anyone who is serious about art. They have every opportunity you can imagine with unlimited resources. There, I got to paint from still life, plein air, and live models. We also created sculptures and participated in multiple art shows. My absolute favorite class was “Anatomy for Artists.” We all learned about human anatomy, mostly skeletal and muscular systems while studying and drawing from real cadavers. Some may have thought it was upsetting or scary, but I was so engrossed by the intricate beauty of the human body and what a miraculous living machine it really is.
After graduating from Snow with my Associates of Art, I got married and moved up north to continue my education at Utah Valley University (UVU), in Orem, Utah. My love for oil painting grew as I became more experienced with the medium and different painting techniques. Just as I was finishing my first year at UVU, Covid hit, and all the schools shut down and went online. My husband and I were were still poor college students, and there was no longer any reason to be living in the city if school was only online. My husband soon found a job down in Monticello, Utah, so we packed everything up and left. I continued the rest of my Bachelors of Art education online, which I honestly would never recommend to anyone. It is incredibly difficult to watch others paint through a computer screen and is such a lonely experience to not be painting with other fellow artists by your side. As school was nearing an end, I attended a 2-week long summer course held in Capitol Reef National Park for artists and photographers. This amazing opportunity became one of the most influential moments of my artistic education. We lived in the National Park for an entire two weeks, immersed in the beautiful desert landscape, and had time to paint all day, every day. I came home from that class with arms full of paintings and feeling inspired to create more.
As I continue to live here in Monticello, I am constantly overwhelmed with the beauty of Utah’s red rock deserts. I feel myself often drawn to painting these stark landscapes over and over again, discovering myself to be more spiritually inspired and grounded from these awe-inspiring scenes.
As of right now, I am currently a stay-at-home mom of a baby girl, and still paint whenever I can; either while balancing a baby on my lap, or steeling away while she sleeps, or my husband watches her. I have participated in multiple art shows in Moab, Utah, have had my art printed in an Art and Design book published by UVU titled “Utopia”, and I continue to apply to other art shows throughout Utah and work on commissions. I dream and work towards growing my art business and catching the eye of others who see my paintings and fall in love with Utah deserts as I have.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There have certainly been some struggles along the way.
Going to school online during Covid was extremely difficult and was not the kind of education that I would’ve normally wanted.
Trying to paint while pregnant, and then having a baby to take care of is much harder than you might think. I am so proud of all those other moms out there who continue to create art and don’t give up because this is hard!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I mainly focus on oil painting on panel, mostly landscapes, though I do enjoy painting the figure as well. I am mostly known for my landscape paintings of Utah and am very proud of these paintings. I love simplifying a scene, using a more painterly style, focusing on the big shapes, values, and enhancing the colors. I don’t want my paintings to be extremely tight and realistic. If it’s a painting, I want it to truly be a painting! I want to see the brush strokes and be able to run my hand over the surface and feel the globs of paint. It’s so free and fun and raw and open.
One of my inspirations for my paintings would be the artist, Maynard Dixon. I often study his works and how he painted desert landscapes.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
All of my favorite childhood memories involve camping. My parents used to take us camping in the Uintahs next to Teapot Lake. We’d spend a few days fishing, canoeing, and playing games in our little tent trailer while listening to the rain.
My dad’s family also had a camping tradition of taking old 1970s Honda Trials bikes up to the La Sal mountains every fall. We would ride around on those old dirt bikes for days, giving dirt trails our own names from funny memories, historically messy mud puddles, trees growing through tractors, beaver dams, and swinging fences. I was the only girl of my entire extended family who went on these rowdy adventures every year, but they were always my absolute favorite. I was one of the gang.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shauntelclements.com
- Instagram: @shauntelclementsfineart
