We were lucky to catch up with Wendell Supreme Shannon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wendell Supreme, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

As cliche as it may seem… asking any entrepreneur especially an artist about risks is something than cant be minimized. We are the risk. As if being willing to bet on yourself, to say this is who I am and express it day in and day out isn’t enough. We create works exposing our truths and our weaknesses through creative expression hoping someone in the world appreciates who we are and what we do. Investing hours and weeks even hundreds to thousands of dollars into ourselves and our crafts takes gull and the result is exactly what you see before you. Recently I decided to fully rebrand myself as an artist highlighting my decade long career and everything i learned along the way. This was no easy feat, enrolling in media training courses, practicing public speaking despite apprehension of being on camera, developing press kits, hiring staff, researching my market, identifying my niche, designing a new website centralizing all of my businesses operations,` increasing the size and level of detail in my work, renovating a studio gallery in the height of Covid-19, not to mention spearheading collaborations with various organizations across various states. Honestly I believe my true risk was deciding to stay comfortable or invest in my growth not only as a man but an artist.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My story is a testament of obstacles, faith, and finding purpose. During my sophomore semester at Morgan State University I was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases which ultimately effected the use of my hands. Over the course of two years I struggled with holding items like pens and pencils but with therapy I built tolerance by literally drawing shapes. I had no idea this creative release would segway into each disease going into remission leading me to a decade long career as an artist. Over the last ten years I’ve emerged as a muralist, sculptor, large format fine artist. I although my passion for art knew no limits it couldn’t compare to my love for community. Ive managed to organize and participate in several events, fundraisers and targeted campaigns highlight art and its importance. Creating work like I do is a different kind of special. Yes, it may be appealing to the eye but as an artist it is our obligation to create from the heart and bring attention to topics that may be over looked — even giving spectators a new perspective on said subject. Thats a super power and a lot of weight to carry but i wouldn’t trade it. Geometric art isn’t new, i believe my attention to detail, my obscure concepts and formation commands eyes in any room. Of all that I’ve done over the years, I have to admit I’m most proud of showing every, especially my son Supreme, the result of sacrifice and walking in your purpose. Regardless of obstacle, if you love something — live it, not just today but every day. Its safe to say I’ve done my job if I inspired or helped one person become a better version of themselves.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2017 I made a decision that ultimately would have prevented me from touching a paintbrush ever again. Having the opportunity to reflect while at my lowest point lead me to the decision of being who I am now. Not allowing circumstance in any capacity to stop me from being the artist and man I saw myself as. I decided then to let go and remove any hurdles from my path, eliminate excuses and fully invest in myself bringing every vision that crossed my mind to life. Taking small concepts and scaling to large format work garnering recognition on a global scale. Whats significant isn’t the event that took place but how that event incubated me and cultivated room for transformation. That resilience, that forever forward mentality is engrained in me whether applied to day to day obstacles or depicted in my work as a fine artist.

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

Freedom. If nothing more freedom is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist. Free to do, free to be, say and be seen. In every way we’re able to say we exist, we experienced life and felt the importance of conveying our perspective. We move in a way that social norms and standards don’t apply, or effect who or what we want to be. Its the ability to actually live in and embrace the world versus just being in the world. Those late nights in the studio when the world is at rest we’re creating something out of nothing. Taking a spark of an idea and turning nothing into something. Ive seen that element missing from so many people I try to be a daily reminder to live creatively and take actions that their inner child would be proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WSSFineArt.com
• Instagram: WSS_fineart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSSFINEART
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wshannon/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC08VA5dfoPyga9ZoM5MmXrw

Image Credits
Tyrone Syranno Wilkens Fresco Imagery