Shannon Bebel

Fire

Oil on canvas

12 7/8 x 16 x 1 1/4 inches

2017

I waste as little paint as possible when I paint. I made "Fire," (and other paintings like it) with leftover paint scraped from my palette. It is an experiment with mark-making and conservation of materials.

Petrichor

Oil on canvas

40 1/2 x 29 7/8 x 1 7/8 inches

2017

“Petrichor” is the smell of rain after a long period of dry and warm weather. It is often thought of as a pleasant smell and can be very soothing.

Petrichor

Rain and Moss

Oil on canvas

8 x 10 x 9/16 inches

2017

The leftover paint from the rain and window in ‘Petrichor’ and the moss in ‘Am I Enough?’ was scraped off of my palette to create this piece. It is meant to represent the wet and earthy element of those pieces.

Anonymous

Oil on canvas

14 x 11 x 9/16 inches

2018

"Anonymous" is my most recent experiment with finding a use for the paint that is leftover on my palette from another painting.

Stone

Oil on canvas

8 x 10 x 9/16 inches

2017

I reused the paint leftover from the final layers of the stain glass window and the stone in “Am I Enough?”

Am I Enough?

Oil on canvas

40 1/2 x 30 x 1 7/8 inches

2017

This piece was inspired by the take on the legend of Mac Lir in the animated film "Song of the Sea." The texture in the moss was built up over time with dried and wet paint scraped off of my paint pallet. When each layer dried, I painted over it with greens to suggest moss.

Vulnerability

Oil and charcoal on canvas

51 1/2 x 36 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches

2017

Blush

Oil on canvas

8 x 10 x 9/16 inches

2017

"Blush" was my first experiment with salvaging paint instead of throwing it away. I used the leftover colors used for the cloud in "Vulnerability," and it was all applied with a palette knife.

Self Portrait in Green

Oil on canvas

25 3/4 x 20 x 1 5/8 inches

2016

Pride

Oil on canvas

24 3/16 x 20 3/8 x 2 inches

2016

Drawing from my experience in musical theater as a child, I have always been fascinated by the transformation of an actor into a character can be visually conveyed with costume and makeup. That interest inspires this portrait. She is proud of her beauty, and she has adorned herself in the feathers of a blue and gold macaw. She is the star. She is pride.

The Forest

Oil on canvas

18 1/8 x 18 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches

2016

"The Forest" represents silence, peace, and tranquility. The painting began as a portrait then transformed into a forest, and one can still see some remnants of the outline of the subject's face in profile.