A native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Shawn has been creating art since childhood. Starting with markers and colored pencils, he was introduced to painting with acrylics by his 8th-grade art teacher. Later, he was exposed to graffiti art by a childhood friend, who had a profound impact on his style by fostering a love of bold color and a preference for markers over brushes.

A graduate of North Carolina Central University, he majored in Public Administration while minoring in Visual Art. His work has been displayed in numerous establishments spanning the East Coast with his base being in the Raleigh-Durham Area, including the Hayti Heritage Center and Durham Arts Council in Durham, NC, the Garner Performing Arts Center, Garner, NC, the Mint Museum, and The VAPA Center in Charlotte, NC, and the William R. Harvey Art Museum in Talladega, Al.

He has works in the permanent collections of Benedict College in Columbia, SC, Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC. Prominent owners of his work include public figures Erykah Badu and Dr. Cornel West.
     

Shawn’s current, ongoing project is a series of paintings celebrating the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The only Fine Arts tribute of its kind, to date the series includes all the North Carolina(11) and Virginia(5) Institutions, Howard University, Spellman College, and Florida A & M University.

Shawn is a member of the seminal, Charlotte NC based artist collective, The Palette Table, and is represented by Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery.