Samantha Shields
Masters of fine art
Maine College of Art
Graduates: 2024
Specialisms: Painting / Printmaking / Fine Art
My location: Calgary, Canada
Samantha Shields
First Name: Samantha
Last Name: Shields
University / College: Maine College of Art
Course / Program: Masters of fine art
Graduates: 2024
Specialisms: Painting / Printmaking / Fine Art
My Location: Calgary, Canada
Website: Click To See Website
About
Samantha Shields is a painter based in Calgary, AB, Canada where she lives with her husband and young child. She has exhibited in Canada and the U.S., including at the Quentin Doolittle Gallery in Calgary and the Zand Head Gallery in Portland, ME. Shields grew up in Massachusetts and served in the U.S. Air Force as an Arabic translator. She later received a BFA in Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After working as an architectural designer for two years she pivoted to painting. Currently, she is pursuing an MFA at Maine College of Art and Design.
This painting series takes a contemporary look at fatherhood in Western culture. Positive imagery of fathers with their children has traditionally been underrepresented in Western visual culture. Given the advances toward gender equality over the past few decades it is time to re-examine our concepts of family, gender, and masculinity. The fathers presented in these works embody traits traditionally associated with femininity. They are nurturing, sensitive, and involved with family life. Through vibrant, discordant color combinations and the use of printmaking to create distortion, I seek a sense of novelty that invites the viewer to rethink their preconceived ideas of men and women, and the roles each play within the family.
Competitions
