Shannon Stamey
@wsstamey
Circa 1977. Professional freelance traditional artist and illustrator. Golden Age, fantasy, horror, pulp, film. Human playlist. French fry enthusiast. COMMISSIONS OPEN. No AI. Feel free to DM for work inquiries.
A smattering-of-work slideshow. Some old. Some new. All hand-drawn and painted in traditional mediums. Oil, pencil, pastel, watercolor, charcoal. Some good. Some, eh. Some very personal. Some just because. All deeply valuable to me on some level.
My work week has consisted entirely of this nouveau line work in my client’s hair. But it’s turning out nicely. Private commission. Derwent lightfast pencil on sage green Canson paper.
Title card trailer for a book I was planning on creating last year. I’m no longer doing the book, but making the trailer was a blast. Hand-painted titles. Oil and pencil on paper with stop-motion paper leaves on a homemade multi-plane setup using old picture frames tiered on coffee jars.
A tiny bit of early footage of an unused client piece. Derwent lightfast pencil on Cason paper.
The Thin Man. Study. 2024. Graphite and white pencil on Strathmore toned paper. 11”x17”.
Green Halo Absinthe. 2024. Pencil, watercolor and oil on paper. 18”x24”. I did my first in this series back in 2008 as a 24”x48” canvas. I’m sure there’ll be more to come when I have time.
Stars. 2015. Oil on wood. 24”x36”. Instead of painting the flecks of stars onto the background, I used a sewing needle to scrape away the paint and let the bare wood show through. This was also my first nude model reference shoot.
What I was doing in class at 16… My friends and I as monsters. I’m the werewolf. My girlfriend and her sister were succubi, my friend Travis is the Reaper. His little brother, Gary is the mummy. And my childhood best friend, Jeff is the Creature. Prismacolor pencil and pen on paper. 11”x17”.
Finally getting into this August Gallows commission after I don’t know how many drafts. But I got it where I want it. It’s still in the skeletal stages, so bear with me. A million thanks to my friend and model for helping create and bring this character to life. August Gallows: Blue Gaze, Shoegaze.
Fosse Zombie. 2022. Private commission. Oil on canvas. 18”x24”. I got so many fucking hand cramps trying to get this reference shoot done…
Eldritch Mona Lisa. 2019. Private commission. Prismacolor Verithin pencil (dark umber, dark brown, white and black) and sepia conte crayon over watercolor wash on parchment. 12”x18”.
Finalizing the details for a new August Gallows piece. More sea foam and veridian. Maybe a bat. Definitely stars on strings. My friend/model have talked about continuing this character’s journey, so there’s more coming. -Witches Lullaby Pencil, oil, watercolor. -Over the Moon Graphite and charcoal
Rorschach. 2019. Private commission. Oil, pencil and ink on Canson paper. 11”x17”. With details.
The Fates. 2023. Private commissioned set. Pencil and oil over watercolor wash on Canson paper. 11”x17” each.
The Spider and The Fly. 2023. Prismacolor pencil, oil and charcoal on paper. 3”x5” each.
Finding weird shit as I clean up the studio and pack up some orders to ship out. Leatherface sketch from a couple years ago. I think.. Watercolor and red ink on paper. 11”x17”.
Jasper Blackwell of Sugar Bug Parish. 2025. Graphite on Canson paper. 11”x14” The sister piece to Gertie Soot. Two random characters I created to romanticize the Halloween season and rustle the leaves inside me a bit while I had the chance. I loved every single second of working on both of these.
Gertie Soot of Sugar Bug Parish. 2025. Graphite on Canson paper. 11”x14”. Work was sparse over the course of 2025, so I had some time to steep myself in some things that were entirely me and I decided to revisit some things that 16 year-old Shannon was doing when he skipped school in 1994…
Finished sketch, early rendering and details. Vandyke brown and ivory black oil paint. Black and white Prismacolor Verithin pencil and black marker on toned Canson paper. 11”x14”.
@thewordshaker.bsky.social I’m sorry this sketch has taken so long, but it’s finally done. I’ll add some extras for the wait and get it in the mail Monday. Thanks a ton for your patience and support. I hope you like it. Oil, pencil and marker on Canson toned paper. 11”x14”.
This may not help much, but I didn’t have time to get a lot of progress footage. This is where the scarlet and strawberry get their glisten. This isn’t white, it’s a very light gray and warmer ivory. But when they’re all layered, the depth and wetness start to push off the paper.
These are the main colors I’m using, starting with the chestnut and indigo to get my deepest hues. The merlot gets warmer when I add a wheat color for highlights, so that ‘iron’ look in blood shows through. The scarlet and strawberry are the only true reds I’m using to fill it out.
Leaving it here for now to jump tracks and address a revision of another piece for the same client. She’s coming along nicely though. Derwent lightfast pencil on Canson toned paper. 12”x12”. Happy Saturday, mongrels.