Nashville artist Shane Miller has been compared to the tonalism artist William Turner. Both artists have a similar thread of creativity when it comes to their depictions of nature.
Shane's work is “an ode to the tonalism movement.” The tonalism movement first began during the 1880s. The style captures the mood and atmosphere of nature by using colors and light to create an essence of emotion on canvas. The landscapes represent emotion, rather than a real representation of a certain place. The colors are moody and can even be described as solemn, yet peaceful.
Shane uses oils on canvas in the colors of cayenne, umbers, ultramarine blues, earth tones, and shades of gray transforming the viewer into a dreamy and tranquil world. The flow of colors disappears into each other in no distinct pattern or lines. The effect is a foggy and seamless blend of shapes of land or water in a beautiful natural setting.
Shane's works are full of “dreams and silent emotions.” He creates from his imagination.
He uses light and the transmission of light to illuminate the world he paints. When painting water scenes, he expresses that the water represents the movement of time and the passing of life. These scenes can give the viewer, “a sense of peace away from life,” says Shane.
Forbes magazine praised his work saying he, “evoke[s] a sense of nostalgia and a longing for something distant and intangible.”
Shane has been a professional artist for seven years and is based in Nashville. His work is shown in five galleries spanning the southeast, across Tennessee and South Carolina.
Painting to him does not require inspiration each time. "It takes more discipline than that," he suggests.
He hones his craft by being in his studio six days a week and painting every day. Painting to Shane is a form of meditation, but he says he tries not to stay too comfortable with his art process. He thinks comfort is “a slow death.”
“If you’re comfortable, you are not growing and evolving. And art is always a movement, changing from time to time as the world evolves,” he says.
Shane has no training in art, but says he “stumbled into it” after playing guitar and being musically inclined to art in that way. He is a self-taught artist. After trial and error, Shane discovered a style that resonated with him. And so, he began his professional career as an artist.
At first, he says his art was created for family and friends, then friends of friends, then displayed in coffee houses and then in galleries. He established an online presence through Instagram and his website with a portfolio of his work. His artistry grew organically and when he realized people loved and enjoyed his work, the door was open to create more.
Although his work is primarily residential, Shane says he is eager to showcase his ballads of art to the public setting. For inquiries, appointments with him for viewing his collection of work in his studio can be scheduled. His 450 or so square foot studio is filled with natural light and high ceilings with paintings on every wall, on easels, and stored for viewing.
His work is currently displayed in these five galleries: Bennett Galleries in Nashville, Gallery 1401 in Chattanooga, District Gallery in Knoxville, Mary Martin Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina, and Art and Light Gallery in Greenville, South Carolina. He is also planning to show his work out West.
As art is moving more from gallery gatekeepers to a direct-to-customer artist-to-client approach, Shane is capitalizing on social media to build his clientele and portfolio. Social media is a new way of getting art out there and accessible to those who admire it.
Shane's art is typically considered beautiful, peaceful, meaningful and emotional. He states his art is never planned. It evolves as he paints and will be what it will be. As the colors and shapes unfold, there is a new beginning; a new quiet escape appears and the viewer is left with serenity.
ShaneArtistry.com