Shannon Grissom

Shannon Grissom, a California native, originally expressed her creative self through music. Moved to combine her musical affinity with her passion for color, she began oil painting in 1992. Inspired and driven, she rose early each day to paint. These painting sessions were completed before the start of her workday. This demanding schedule was worth the effort. By 1999, she was able to leave her day job to become a professional artist.  She maintains her art studio in California.

Grissom says "I love painting early.  I don’t have to contend with the influences of the day. It’s pure.  It’s so quiet.  Well, pretty quiet.  You see every morning I rise with a song lyric or melody that can stay in my head all day.  Sometime the relevance is applicable for the day, other times; the message applies over a longer period.  Always the music has relevance to my work, my life, so I pay attention."

Today, Shannon is an award-winning artist. She has won awards for both her painting and her television series, "Give Your Walls Some Soul".  Recently, her Monkey Made of Sockies character has been licensed on golf club headcovers.  Shannon is in collections all over the globe. She is currently working on her first music CD, Act Your Age.

"My mission is to 'give your walls some soul' and to give your heart inspiration and joy. To accomplish this, I mostly paint portraits of people, animals and things. That is why you tend to see single objects on the canvas. And, because the paintings are large, I have no choice but to get intimate with each painting. I feel this large size helps the viewer participate in each piece," explains Grissom.

She goes on to say, "My use of warm vibrant colors best reflects my energy and also furthers my goal of connecting with you. With music streaming through my head, I paint portraits. Portraits of people, portraits of cows, portraits of sock monkeys, portraits of life."

Awards and Honors

• nominee for the ARTV Awards, the first ever academy awards for visual artists
• Parent-to-Parent adding Wisdom Award for her first children’s book, Monkey Made of Sockies, the only award program to ever be honored by Disney