Shea McCarthy | SUNY Oswego

Shea McCarthy
Williamsville, NY
[email protected]

BFA Fine Arts, Painting

Biography

Shea McCarthy is an artist from Buffalo, NY. Upon completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in painting, Shea plans to enter the MAT degree in K-12 art education to pursue a career as an art teacher. Shea is primarily an abstract artist who experiments with bold colors, density within compositions, and the illusion of three-dimensional space within a two-dimensional plane. During her time at Oswego, Shea has been recognized with the Kathy Budd Emerging Artist Award and the Robert Sullins Studio Award by the SUNY Oswego Department of Art and Design. She received The Al Bremmer Award for her paintings at the 56th, 57th, and 58th Annual Juried Shows at SUNY Oswego. Shea was the Creative Director of The Oswegonian, the student-run newspaper of SUNY Oswego. She also has served as a graphic designer for Title IX and currently works as the director of graphic design for SUNY Oswego’s Women’s Center. In February 2020, Shea was the first undergraduate student at SUNY Oswego to have a painting chosen for display in the SUNY Global Center in NYC, NY, as a part of the two-year-long “Global Abstraction ” show. Shea enjoys creating in oil paint, acrylics, watercolor, and ink.

Artist Statement

My abstract artwork is primarily focused on depicting moments within imaginary explosions of shapes. I want viewers to feel like they are experiencing a sense of place within my work, even though there is no reference to a traditional landscape. My technical process includes a very intuitive way of transporting my own mind into a world that consists of only abstracted forms, and trying to envision the ways that a "shape-explosion" would feel if I was standing within it or watching it from afar. My work is a response to the way that a diversification of shapes, media and mark-making techniques can fit together in one space.

This oil painting depicts a variety of abstracted forms floating within a bright green atmospheric space. The overarching shapes are similar in size, and they are complimented with intricacies such as weaving lines, other tube-like structures, and the repetition of small circles. This piece explores a full range of colors.

Colored Subconscious
Oil on Canvas
18x20”
2019
Painting 1
This oil painting depicts a variety of abstracted forms floating within a bright green atmospheric space. The overarching shapes are similar in size, and they are complimented with intricacies such as weaving lines, other tube-like structures, and the repetition of small circles. This piece explores a full range of colors.

This abstract painting shows a clear contrast between straight-edge geometries and references to softer, fabric like material. Created based on a still-life, it explores a color palette of toned-down cool colors and is complimented with bright red tones for visual interest. The fabric forms seem to be pouring out of their sections and into the world of geometric shapes.

Interior Congregation
Oil on Paper
18x24”
2019
Painting 3
This abstract painting shows a clear contrast between straight-edge geometries and references to softer, fabric like material. Created based on a still-life, it explores a color palette of toned-down cool colors and is complimented with bright red tones for visual interest. The fabric forms seem to be pouring out of their sections and into the world of geometric shapes.

This work visually contains a density of many abstracted shapes seeming as though they have been piled into one structural form. Exploring a full range of colors from red to violet, the colors work from the top left corner to the bottom right, and blend from one to the next. The form is not within a rectangular space, but rather exists as its own entity in contrast to the white background it lives within.

Confinement
Mixed Media
18x24”
2019
ART 205
This work visually contains a density of many abstracted shapes seeming as though they have been piled into one structural form. Exploring a full range of colors from red to violet, the colors work from the top left corner to the bottom right, and blend from one to the next. The form is not within a rectangular space, but rather exists as its own entity in contrast to the white background it lives within.

This painting is a still life of a pillow. Containing tones of red, blue and hints of yellow, it explores texture and gestures towards abstraction with the way that brush strokes were purposefully left prominent and unblended. The pillow takes up most of the frame, and is very central to the composition. There is a strayed string coming from the top right of the pillow, descending downward to a pile of fabric at the bottom.

Pillow
Oil on Canvas
22x30”
2019
Painting 3
This painting is a still life of a pillow. Containing tones of red, blue and hints of yellow, it explores texture and gestures towards abstraction with the way that brush strokes were purposefully left prominent and unblended. The pillow takes up most of the frame, and is very central to the composition. There is a strayed string coming from the top right of the pillow, descending downward to a pile of fabric at the bottom.

This ceramics piece contains gestural petal-like edges, and on the right side, there are red, white and yellow tentacle-like shapes that connect the top to the bottom half. There are spheres intertwined within the tentacles, with painted eye shapes on them. The body of the form is black with red and yellow speckles, and there are green tones within the edges as well. The form serves as a vase-like decor, because it is able to physically hold things inside of it.

Stare
Ceramic
6x12”
2019
Ceramics 1
This ceramics piece contains gestural petal-like edges, and on the right side, there are red, white and yellow tentacle-like shapes that connect the top to the bottom half. There are spheres intertwined within the tentacles, with painted eye shapes on them. The body of the form is black with red and yellow speckles, and there are green tones within the edges as well. The form serves as a vase-like decor, because it is able to physically hold things inside of it.

This oil painting is a self-portrait of the artist from the shoulders up, gazing out at the viewer. This image plays with color so all of the figure’s facial features are done in a turquoise blue using green as shadows and white as highlights. The hair framing the figure is dark green to pull out the green depth within the face. The colored face ends at the chin and allows the neck and the glimpse we see of the shoulder area to be skin tone. The flesh color is also the background hue which makes the image l

Blue
Oil on Canvas Board
12” x 9”
2021
ART 415: Painting 4
This oil painting is a self-portrait of the artist from the shoulders up, gazing out at the viewer. This image plays with color so all of the figure’s facial features are done in a turquoise blue using green as shadows and white as highlights. The hair framing the figure is dark green to pull out the green depth within the face. The colored face ends at the chin and allows the neck and the glimpse we see of the shoulder area to be skin tone. The flesh color is also the background hue which makes the image look odd as the viewer is confused about where the body starts and ends.

This piece depicts three compartments of ribbon-like abstract shapes that are all relatively within the same scale. The shapes seem to have a directional force as they descend from the top left to the bottom right corner of the picture. In this piece, the shapes range between pinks, turquoise, yellows and oranges, with a light brown as the background atmospheric color.

Unravel
Mixed Media
18x20”
2018
ART 105
This piece depicts three compartments of ribbon-like abstract shapes that are all relatively within the same scale. The shapes seem to have a directional force as they descend from the top left to the bottom right corner of the picture. In this piece, the shapes range between pinks, turquoise, yellows and oranges, with a light brown as the background atmospheric color.

This illustration depicts a large, highly intricate spider web. The web is composed of very fine-tipped black and white penwork. The spider sits to the right of the web, and has a very solemn look on its cartoon-like face. Within the background, there are very bright red, yellow and orange tones ultimately contrasting greatly with the monochromatic spider and web.

Spider & Web
Mixed Media
15x18”
2020
Illustration 1
This illustration depicts a large, highly intricate spider web. The web is composed of very fine-tipped black and white penwork. The spider sits to the right of the web, and has a very solemn look on its cartoon-like face. Within the background, there are very bright red, yellow and orange tones ultimately contrasting greatly with the monochromatic spider and web.

This piece explores a very dense environment of abstract shapes ranging in orange, dark pink, turquoise, yellow and green. There are harsh, black zig-zags within the work that ultimately create another component of density. The pink, cylindrical shapes create a sense of depth as they get smaller and go further back into the space of the piece.

Outburst
Mixed Media
18x24”
2021
Independent Study
This piece explores a very dense environment of abstract shapes ranging in orange, dark pink, turquoise, yellow and green. There are harsh, black zig-zags within the work that ultimately create another component of density. The pink, cylindrical shapes create a sense of depth as they get smaller and go further back into the space of the piece.

This piece is depicting an arrangement of abstract shapes that is very germ-like in terms of the bright green color that is consistent throughout. The piece is very intricate in terms of the repetition of shapes and a wide range of mark making techniques. It contains pink, purple, orange, green and blue shapes, along with black surrounding the larger oval shape.

Within
Mixed Media
18x24”
2021
Independent Study
This piece is depicting an arrangement of abstract shapes that is very germ-like in terms of the bright green color that is consistent throughout. The piece is very intricate in terms of the repetition of shapes and a wide range of mark making techniques. It contains pink, purple, orange, green and blue shapes, along with black surrounding the larger oval shape.

This drawing contains a skull composed of planes of solid colors, ultimately creating the illusion of three dimensional space by the way that the planes come together cohesively. This piece explores a very full range of colors on the color wheel.

Untitled
Chalk Pastel on paper
18x24”
2021
Intermediate Drawing
This drawing contains a skull composed of planes of solid colors, ultimately creating the illusion of three dimensional space by the way that the planes come together cohesively. This piece explores a very full range of colors on the color wheel.

This painting depicts a large rectangular shape that seemingly contains an array of various abstract shapes. The abstract shapes have energy in the way that they seem to be moving through the bottom of the rectangle. In the foreground, there are three dimensional triangles that are prominent in the way that they add this component of density. This piece also explores a full range of colors.

Rafted
Oil on Panel
4x5’
2021
Painting 3
This painting depicts a large rectangular shape that seemingly contains an array of various abstract shapes. The abstract shapes have energy in the way that they seem to be moving through the bottom of the rectangle. In the foreground, there are three dimensional triangles that are prominent in the way that they add this component of density. This piece also explores a full range of colors.