Shawn Demarest
Portland, Oregon
Shawn Demarest is an oil painter getting to know St Johns, Portland.
MessageA native of Boulder, Colorado, Shawn Demarest lives in Portland, OR. She received a BFA from the University of Colorado with a focus on printmaking and painting, a BA in Mathematics, and a scholarship to attend the Cleveland Institute of Art's program in Lacost, France. Later studies led to an MA in Architecture from SCI-Arc/San Francisco Institute of Architecture. Demarest was the recipient of RACC (Regional Arts and Culture Council) project grants in 2012 and 2015 and a 2018 Professional Development Grant. She received fellowship residencies to Helene Wurlitzer Foundation and Playa Summer Lake. Demarest was an artist in residence at The University Club of Portland and Mojave Natural Preserve. *Demarest has commissioned multi-panel installations in Portland's Rivereast Building and PCC's Southeast Campus Library as well as individual paintings in RACC's Portable Works Collection and others. Demarest lived in the New Mexico village of El Rito from 2020-2026.
Statement
My work is place-based. When painting from observation or working from photos and memories, my paintings reflect what I see and how a place feels. At times my paintings depict the seen, visual world and other times I walk a purely intuitive path. In 2024 I began a series of paintings that amplify photographer's work in Gaza, hoping to help raise $ and support.
Recently (2026) the one constant in my work is letting the painting become what it wants to become - and stopping when it feels alive. Right now I am painting images from my St Johns life.
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