Shannon Richardson studied Fine Arts at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR. Her junior year was spent abroad, where she immersed herself in the unique and highly concentrated PNCA Rome program. Shannon earned her Bachelor of Fine Art in painting, graduating with honors, in 2002. Shannon’s exceptional story-filled life has enabled her to create works of depth and intensity that are rare for one so young. Her work acknowledges the severity of life, while portraying the undeniable poignancy of the human condition. Though inspired from real life experiences, her dream-like paintings transcend the literal. The works reflect a blurring of the boundaries between memory and reality. Visual fairy tales, they are often intertwined with an element of the fantastic, which serves to further infuse the works with a sense of romance and reverie. “There is only honesty in the true moment of something, after that it is just the illusion of memory. But it is these memories that serve as the catalyst for inspiration. I am able to take some of the gravity of life and turn it into something tangible and beautiful, but not quite real. They are memories as I wish I could remember them. The truth becomes the fable.” Shannon’s paintings, though informed by deeply intimate perspectives, resonate with universal themes. They serve as templates through which the viewer’s relatedness in the world can be acknowledged and experienced. The common ground is shared emotion. "The human condition is intense, private and personal. Our individual memories are our own. Still, we can all find connection around the broader, more fundamental emotions that color our unique life experiences." In 2006, Shannon received the distinction of being named by Southwest Art Magazine as one of "21 artists under the age of 31 to collect now." PDX Magazine also recognized Shannon as one of ten contemporary artists in the Northwest in the article, Fine Young Things. Shannon currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon with her husband Groshong, puppy Yoda and cat Mr. Manno. She paints every day. She enjoys the pleasures of her garden, and is renewed continuously by the power of creativity. Her work has been exhibited widely, and hangs in collections both home and abroad.