Artist Spotlight: Shannon McKenna

Name: Shannon Patricia McKenna

City: Plantation

Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland

Artistic Medium: Photography (Nature and Landscape)

How did you get started?
Nature’s beauty has always intrigued me. The desire to preserve and record this beauty led me to photography.

Who or what are your influences?
Early morning light, stormy afternoons, sunsets breaking through the clouds, majestic mountains, rivers of grass, colorful blooms, graceful trees, and most especially, the sometimes calm sometimes raging waters of the ocean.

What inspires your work?
Wonders seen through my mind’s eye.

How does Miami/South Florida influence your work?
South Florida’s “viera” is a kaleidoscope. The colors and light permeate my work. The intrinsic beauty and grace of palms—from their arching fronds, to their ripe ruby-red berries, to their bold yellow coconuts, to their sturdy trunks—inspires me deeply.

How would you describe your work?
Angles, curves, lines, and forms structure my photographs. I search out different lighting conditions to add to the color and mood. My best photographs are taken when I become
lost in a place where peace and calm enfold me.

What has been the most unusual reaction to your work from the public?
The most unusual reaction to my work has been when someone mistook my photographs for paintings.

What would you like to achieve as an artist?
Sharing my vision of nature’s bounty, and encouraging others to stop and immerse themselves in nature’s gallery.

Upcoming shows:
United and Proud 2008
ArtsUnited
Gallery Six, Broward County Main Library
100 Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
June 1-27
http://artsunitedonline.org/gpage.html

Stonewall Library and Archives
1717 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale
June 2-27
http://artsunitedonline.org/gpage.html

Where is your work available?
My work is available at my website: www.photographybyspmckenna.com. For more information, you may also contact me by telephone at 305.528.6860.

Achoo

Approaching Storm

Everglades Sunset

Garden Gate

Harmony In Blue

Red Bosom

Sea Foam Gathering

Standing Tall

If you are an artist and would like to be a part of Artist Spotlight, contact Mary Damiano at StarrWriter2000@aol.com