We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Barnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I have worked on would be the V.I.A award ceremony. The ceremony is intended to celebrate artists who are passionate about their art and understand the professional side of this profession as well as remembering the value of humility and serving others. The art industry can be a political based industry. Not as in presidential election politics, but more of a it is who you know and how well you schmooze or play the art game politics. Quite often `people are recognized and you have to wonder exactly how this came about. For example, a museum I visited in another state a couple years back actually exhibit trash that had been glued together. This was not an exhibit intended to build environmental awareness. The exhibit was a “Modern Day Master’s of Fine Arts” exhibit. Maybe I was missing a very important piece of information, but one has to wonder how trash became fine art, and one has to wonder how the artist gained enough recognition to be in this museum exhibit.

The V.I.A ceremony is intended to shine the spotlight on those who simply have a passion for art and those who understand the hard work that must go into being a professional artist, while maintaining integrity and humility. The award celebrates artists for their talents and their accomplishments as well as the purpose their art may serve in the community.

I was inspired with the idea while traveling to receive an award in New York. It was certainly an honor to receive the award, and the founder of that award spoke at lengths about helping rising artists get the recognition they deserve. To my knowledge, we do not have such a thing in Georgia. Most of the artists and art organizations I have worked with art very self serving and quite often they do not play well with others. The V.I.A award and ceremony is intended to build connection and community while honoring the deserving artists’ hard work.

Shannon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Growing up in North Georgia, art was not a normal part of our culture. However, my father was an artist who would meticulously work on a commission project. He was an accountant by profession but an artist by calling. He would sit with my sisters and I and with the same talent and care that went into his commissions, he would draw with us. It would typically be a drawing of our house, or a drawing of wonder woman, who was my childhood hero. If we were in a church play or parade, he would use his artistic skills to make our costumes, and any school projects we had, he would offer his talent to help out.

I always had a desire to be an artist. When we would go to the store to buy toys, I would choose drawing pads and paints. I outgrew that and resorted to doodling in my text books and notebooks as a teenager. My father passed away in 2011. At that time I was a successful mental health counselor specializing in trauma. Mental health counseling is also a calling. A clinician must have a heart for people, and clinician must be able to go into the darkside of life without judging. One day while traveling home from work, I was feeling heavy and I really missed my dad. The thought just occurred to me. Paint it out. And so I stopped and purchased a canvas and some paints. I went home and painted what was in my heart. That day my desire for art was reborn.

Fast forward to 2019. I maintained my mental health practice while also returning to academia to increase my art skills. While pursuing a masters of fine arts degree I began to envision one day owning a fine arts gallery.

Fast forward to 2020. An opportunity to open Tranquility Fine Arts Gallery arose. I prayed over this and I was fully prepared for this to not work out. After all, if God has a plan for your life he will open doors. God will also close doors to keep us in his will. The gallery fell in our laps, and we opened the gallery to the public in January 2021.

Despite the negativity we received from many, we focused on the vision. We currently operate a fine arts gallery specializing in Fine Art Sales. We carry a variety of Fine Art Paintings, Fine Art Photography, and we also carry Fine Art Wood Works. We also offer a variety of services which include appraisal services and professional art classes.

The main things that set us apart from others is the standard we maintain. Fine art is self defined. A higher standard and skill set should be accomplished for an artist to label his or her work as fine arts. This standard is what we are most proud. Many genres of art exist. And each genre draws its own market. We want to offer an environment where art history is preserved, where are truly maintains or increases in value, and contemporary talents are recognized.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is knowing that a perfect stranger was drawn to my art. It is flattering when friends and family want to support you. Many artists have sold artwork to friends and family, or even friends of friends. But anytime a social connection exists between the artist and the buyer, a bias also exist. It is hard to know if they truly were drawn to your artwork, or if they are purchasing your artwork in the mindset of being support and doing a good deed. However, when a perfect stranger who is not a friend of a friend, and who does not know you at all, sees your painting in a gallery window and must have it for their home, that is priceless.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

When I think of a person being a “non-creative” then I think of them as more logistical and rational thinking. The non creative may not understand the heart and soul that an artist pours into their artwork, and the non creative may not understand how difficult it can be to then expose that artwork and allow yourself to be vulnerable. The non creative may not understand why a vision to speak to others through art is worth taking many risks. The non creative may not understand that paying for the much more expensive professional level canvas and paints does make a difference in the quality and the value of the painting. But for the creative, all of these are second nature. The vision to speak to others through art is like oxygen. To live without that vision is to live with life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tranquilityfinearts.com/drshannon
• Instagram: shannonbarnesaft
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtFromThePsychee