Spotlight Artist: The Colour-Filled Journey of Carol Shannon

This month we're shining the spotlight on Carol Shannon, a lifelong artist whose love of colour, pattern, and design has shaped a successful creative journey.

A Lifelong Passion for Art:

Carol has been drawing from her early childhood, especially patterns.  Her mother was a great influence, and her love was producing drawings similar to Norman Lindsey's life figures.

Carol Shannon, Explosion

Excelling in art and art history at school, she achieved awards and usually topped the class.  Her love for art grew through her school days.  One of her senior year's art teachers was very encouraging, and she later received a Guggenheim Fellowship in New York.Carol wanted to pursue an Art career, but life took another turn, and she entered the workforce.  Still wishing to pursue her creative interests she studied at night at Mosman Evening College and other venues, engaging in mixed media, folk art, interior design, lino prints, Chinese Brush painting, figurative art, and learnt pastels with Greg Hanson at Royal Art Society of NSW.

After travelling overseas and having her family, Carol was introduced to the International School of Colour and Design ISCDA by a glass artist friend.  This opened a whole new era for her.  Studying there for six years she achieved Associate Diploma and Diploma in Colour and Design, three-year Diploma in Colour and Design, Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration, invited to the Mixed Media Master Class, and the Art Design Studio - The Spectrum Gallery.  Carol achieved awards in Rowe Fabric Textile Design, Private Collections Colourways, Private Collections Colourways First Prize, the Alessi Award for Best Portfolio.

Each end of year an exhibition was held by the students displaying their work, where we learnt how to set up an exhibition and what work is involved behind the scenes.  I designed a working clock while there in the style of Kandinsky and this was included in the Magazine "Craft Art International No 41."

Carol has also had entries in the Mosman Art Prize, Lane Cove Art Prize, St Ives Rotary Art Prize,  Art & Soul Collective, Glen Rose Theatre, North Sydney Art Prize,  Bright Art Show, Victoria, NSW Royal Agricultural Society.  Carol was also invited by North Sydney Council to display and paint in Art Along the Boardwalk at Sydney Harbour.  Carol's art is represented in homes in Australia and New York.

Carol Shannon, My Sydney Harbour

Style, Influences, and Inspiration:

Carol's art celebrates colouring in all its forms.  She's drawn to pattern, landscapes, underwater scenes, and florals, with a special fondness for bold, expressive design.  Her influences include great impressionists - Van Gogh, Klimt, Cezanne, Monet, Hundertwasser - as well as Australian icon Ken Done for his vibrant palette.

Creative Process:

Carol's process for inspiration often emerges from dreams, photographs, books, or simply noticing a beautiful flower or a coastal scene.  She rarely sketches beforehand, preferring to let each painting evolve directly on the canvas.  Music often fills her studio while she works.

Her preferred mediums are acrylic, watercolour, pastel, and mixed media, and she often layers six to eight coats of paint to achieve the rich, intense colours she loves.  She occasionally used a palette knife for added texture, and Posca pens for clean straight lines.

Carol Shannon, Reef Homage

Artistic Journey and Milestones:

A pivotal moment in Carol's career came when she and four friends from the School of Colour and Design called themselves The Pentagon Artists and held an exhibition in the Harry Seidler Building in Sydney.  The exhibition ran for two weeks and was a great success with strong sales and valuable marketing and exhibition management.  Carol's confidence and style have continued to evolve, shaped by training, experimentation, and persistence.

Motivation and Growth:

Carol is a self-described perfectionist, often working slowly and thoughtfully to refine her vision.  She stays inspired by studying other artists, joining online workshops, learning new techniques, even when motivation dips mid-painting, she trusts the process and keeps going until the work finds its resolution.

Her art reflects her deep love of nature, particularly the sea and ever-changing landscapes.  She hopes her audience connects with that same sense of wonder and serenity through her work.

Carol Shannon, Celestial Energy

Looking Ahead:

Carol's goals are simple yet ambitious:  to keep learning, improving, and continue sharing her art with others.  She plans on attending workshops in Brisbane and abroad - and dreams of one day opening a Gallery in Airlie Beach.

Words of Advice:

For aspiring artists, Carol's advice is to stay curious.

"Research different artists and movements, experiment with many styles, become a sponge for information, don't give up when it gets frustrating, there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Her only wish is that she had followed her passion for art earlier in life - but her journey is proof that creativity always finds its way back.  Don't give up.

Carol Shannon, Phalaenopsis