AndAbel Art and Design
• Pet Portrait Painting • Painted Family Portraits •
• Memorial Portrait Paintings • Casket Art •
• Commissioned Paintings • Original Artwork •
• Professional Graphic Design • Logo Design •
Artistic Services by Montana Artist Shawn Abel
"While it is all too true that most artsits are mentally ill, it is a life that, to put it mildly, makes one an outsider"
- Vincent Van Gogh
My Story
I was born an Irish/German Taurus in 1977, watched my mother be consumed by mental illness, helped my father be consumed by his career in film, grew to proudly hold the moniker 'black sheep,' and eventually realized those experiences left only 'Artist' as a possible career option.
I've always been around others, experienced most of the things people experience as life in America, but never felt that the world I saw was the same as the world most others see.
Wanting to share this vision of the world through art, I spent years experimenting with mediums like oils, acrylics, pencils, clay, wood, metal, photography, etc., but was never truly happy with the work I produced. I came closest to pleasing myself with photography, in part because of my history in the film industry, but I've always appreciated painted images more than photographs because, perhaps surprisingly, paintings lack the refined details one finds in photos. It is, in my
opinion, that lack of reality that
allows the viewer to be
transported somewhere inside of
themselves when viewing a piece
of artwork rather than simply
experiencing a singular captured
moment in time. When I found a
way to combine my love of art and
experience with computers and
photographs I was finally able
to realize my vision.
And now I look to you for
some of my inspiration by
asking you to 'Tell me the
story you want your art to
tell.'
Sincerely,
Shawn Abel
My Vision
I first produced Graphic Designs for my high school football and wrestling programs (designs still used today). Once I realized I had a talent I could make money with I did what any teen age boy would do and started making fake ID's for all of my friends.
A phone call from the local sheriff to my father put an end to my counterfeiting days nearly as soon as they started, but the fact remained that I had a valuable skill.
Instead of the traditional route to professional success, I decided to forgo a formal education in the university system and found work as a sample printer in a garment manufacturing company. I would spend the next 20 years honing my skills while working in the design and production end of various graphics outlets: T-shirt Shop, T-shirt/Trophy Shop, T-shirt/Embroidery Shop, Embroidery Shop, TV Station, Print Shop, Tattoo Parlor, Newspaper, Sign Company, Construction Company, Sign Company, Picture Framing Company, Sign Company, Local YMCA. It's a long list, I know, but it also represents the diverse wealth of knowledge I have in the Graphics Industry.
Working for others since the age of thirteen finally got the better of me, and I decided to embrace the American Spirit and create a business of my own based on the simple concept - I can use the skills I've honed over the past twenty-plus years to provide the highest quality design and art services available anywhere.
To that end, I've made extensive investments in state-of-the-art Design Software and Computer Hardware. When it comes to Digitally Painted Artwork, I utilize a proof process to make sure you get the perfect image, I insist on the highest quality print materials and production methods all of which is handled locally, and I also finish all framing projects personally. When it comes to Graphic Designs, I make sure you not only get the best looking graphic, but you will also get all the files you need to get the job produced correctly.