About Shany Porras
I am open for studio visits or art consults. Please contact me to setup a time to meet online or at my studio.
Contact
Email: Shany@number5studios.com
Mobile: +1 (781) 439-4330 (Eastern Standard Time)
My paintings offer a way to visually communicate what is being experienced with music.
To me, painting is about communicating abstractly with the viewer. Since no words are used, we need to stop and look at the paintings to try to understand what is happening. Because of our diversity, one painting can mean many things to different people, and I like that. So is the case for music. Because of my classical music training when I was young, music has remained an essential part of my daily living. I also see music as an abstract language. I am currently translating music to paintings, much in the same way I would translate one language to another, in the hopes to broadening the music and paintings' reach to many people. It is often said that classical music and painting is dead. I beg to differ.
I work primarily with acrylic and water-based paints on canvas, paper, or wood panels. I start my paintings by studying the music I wish to translate. I read and make notes in the music scores, perhaps much in the way as musicians or conductors would, but my notes focus on the translation of that phrase or section into visual elements that I want to use in the painting. I listen to the music often performed by various orchestras and select the performance I am most connected to. Once I am ready to paint, I will have the musical piece playing on a continuous loop, as I begin my intuitive mark making. As I progress to build up the paint and the colors, I often refer back to my notes to ensure I am capturing the parts of the music that are integral to its visual translation. Towards the end of the painting, I slow down to ensure that I have achieved a clear statement of what this music means (to me). The paintings travel around my home for weeks to ensure the recount is honest, and if not, I rework the art until the cycles are complete.
I exhibit in and around Boston, The Berkshires, New York City, Connecticut, and maintain a studio at the Clock Tower Mill in Pittsfield, MA. Contact me for commissions or for a tour of my studio. Email: shany@number5studios.com
Education
B.A. and B.F.A. from Rice University
Representation
- Fountain Street Gallery, Associate Member, as of 2020.
- 1st Dibs (www.1stdibs.com), under Fountain Street Gallery (search for "Shany")
- The Art of the Berkshires, Lenox, MA
Affiliations
National Association of Women Artists, Inc., New York, NY, since 2019.
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, since 2020.
Accolade
Honorable Mention for "Music Translations" Series in Juried Show. Conception Art Show, Boston, May 2019
Press
- Cambridge Art Association: Member Spotlight. Click here: Member Spotlight: Shany Porras – Cambridge Art Association, November 23, 2020.
- It's All About The Arts Magazine - A Creative Combo, March 2020, Curt Naihersey.
- Conception Arts Magazine - Artist Interview: Shany Porras, June 2019, Rachel Wilkins.
- Dover-Sherborn Hometown Weekly - Local Artist Shany Porras Exhibits at Juried Show in Boston, May 9, 2019.
As part of my creative process, I make sketches and notes in the music scores as I listen along and study the music. I get my music scores here: Sheet Music Plus.