Shannon Abbey

‘The future of most bird species depends on our commitment to preserving them. Are they valuable enough for us to make the effort?’ –  Jonathan Franzen

 Simplicity, the beauty of the every day.

I am an environmental woman artist inspired by the landscape and wildlife of Sonoma and Marin counties, especially the wetlands along the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay. My work is about this place, the natural world of the North Bay, combining representation with abstraction.

I work in acrylic on wood panels in the studio, or on location around Sonoma and Marin Counties and recently traveling to Glacier National Park in Montana where I was the 2022 artist in residence.

I was born and raised in a small college town in the Pacific Northwest.

My family spent summer vacations camping, fishing, boating and swimming on the lakes and rivers of Washington and Idaho. The love of the outdoors instilled in me by my  father, an avid outdoorsman, led to my passion for nature and animal life as my  painting’s subject matter. I have an optimistic view of the regenerative power of nature when aware humans intercede.