Check Out Shannon McFate’s Story

Hi Shannon, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Wow, out of the gates. This is already way too hard for me. I have been painting for as long as I can remember even before college but I was the first person in my family to go to college at the time and I was not super confident, taking out student loans to do art. I was not confident enough that I had what it took to make it as a artist.

So I also obtained a degree in forensic psychology, which was another strong passion of mine. Art with something I always had just done because it made me happy and it was mine. I come from a long line of blue-collar workers, but almost all of them did have some kind of artistic flair whether it was my cousin who is a phenomenal drawer or my mom doing these really detailed doodles when she would be on the phone everybody just had a little touch of something.

I started working for the Denver District Attorney’s Office as a Victim Advocate in late 2005 and I started doing sketches while I was in trials to kind of teach myself to school my face I’m during some dynamic testimony. A lot of those sketches turned into paintings and I gave away quite a few paintings during that time because I was just so flattered that folks liked them.

Fast forward many many years and having two beautiful baby boys I had stopped for the most part painting during that time because our house was smaller and it I was not comfortable oil painting around my kids besides fun nursery paintings that I did in acrylic.  I really kind of put that part of me aside (I didn’t feel like I was putting it aside because I was 100% in love with being a mom).

When we moved to a bigger house it was important to my husband and me that I had a space in which I could start painting again.  I had been contacted about having a show at a small little place on Tennyson and then COVID happened so it got pushed back and I actually didn’t get to see the space ahead of time. So when we were finally able to be in public again I showed up to hang my art and the space was a lot smaller than I had imagined and I had way way way way more pieces than their space could accommodate but thankfully the owner was lovely and cleared out a back room and I jammed that place full of art.

The first Friday show was more successful than I could ever possibly have imagined. I felt very blessed and I remember having this moment like ‘Wow I kind of feel like a real artist… people are buying my art and not just people who know me but people who don’t know me and never talked to me and they walked into this bar and they fell in love with a piece and bought it’ and I just thought that was so amazing. I have been doing a couple shows a year and each has been very successful. Usually out of each show I get a few requests for commission pieces. I really enjoy showing in places like breweries and places where people congregate. I feel like art is a conversation starter and it creates just a different ambience for the business. It doesn’t feel as pretentious as a gallery.

Now, I certainly wouldn’t say no to an opportunity to show at a gallery, but sometimes it is really disheartening for folks wanting to buy their first piece of original art, and the prices are so high and part of the reason why they’re so high is a significant percentage will go to the gallery. Which is understandable because it’s a business, but it was really important to me that I was making art that was still affordable for regular people.  I also feel that is a big contributor to why I have sold so many pieces. It’s more important to me that somebody is just butt crazy in love with a piece than anything else. It’s not always easy to navigate working a very high-stress job being a good mother and good wife and good friend and being an artist but we make it work. Often time having to sacrifice sleep. But I have some new shows coming up so I’m super excited about that.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Probably didn’t have to put so much information in that first question. I think almost every artist can agree with this, but in the beginning, is it and still now… I am in disbelief that people like my stuff. I am very honored. It’s been hard to find my ‘worth.’ It is very difficult for me to sometimes price my paintings. Factoring not only the supplies but the time away from my family and sacrificing sleep so I can paint.

You walk to any place on Tennyson and I’m not even talking about the galleries just the restaurants and you look at some of the art and you could be looking at a 1‘ x 2‘ piece and they will have over $1000 priced on it. And good for them if they’re selling that that’s amazing but my stuff is very large, but I also still want to make it affordable, so it’s a very awkward dance.

It’s hard to make the decision to not go do something with my kids and my husband so I can stay home to paint on the weekends. But even with all of that, it’s still totally worth it. I really feel like I am the person I am supposed to be, and then I said constantly suppressed the desire to paint for so long but it’s literally pouring out of me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So I’ve been a victim advocate for I think about 17 years now and I think people would expect my work to be dark but it’s not. I’m really awful at trying to describe my style. People are always asking that question and I always laugh and ask them to look at my website and tell me what they think. But I do a lot of abstracts and definitely a lot of female pieces but I am all over the place with my art because I get inspired very easily.

So I literally have around 10 pieces going at a time because I learned that I would be working on one concept then I would be inspired by a song or a movie and I would unintentionally start putting whatever inspired me into the painting. I was working on it ultimately, in my eyes, I was ruining it. I have learned to have multiple pieces going that way when something does strike me or I have an idea I can quickly run to a different piece and do that and then go back to the other one.

I was not prepared for how much my mind would open when I started painting again because I’m constantly having new ideas. I cannot walk into a space and not stare at its walls and wonder what I could do to fill them up. My art has also been in a form of therapy, which I’m sure is not surprising, I am very proud of what I do but it is a very difficult job being surrounded by sadness and anger all the time.

It is important for me that my kids see that you don’t have to be just one thing you don’t just have to be a doctor, teacher, or a firefighter. You can be all of those things and still be creative. You can be a singer and a teacher. You can be a victim advocate and a painter. that you are not a one-dimensional person. You have so many different sizes of you and you really owe it to yourself to honor and respect all sides.

What do you think about luck?
I don’t want this to sound bad, so I’ll have to explain a little bit. I did not have a lot of support growing up doing my art. I understand why they couldn’t possibly see how it could be something I did for a living. I think that they thought that they were trying to protect me.

Unfortunately, I think it just made me feel very insecure. That has definitely changed now I feel very supported and loved, and I don’t fault them at all because I do think it’s helped shape who I am. I really don’t believe in regrets. I have an amazing family and friends and I’m proud of what I do for work and I’m proud of my art.