history

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 Artist Christopher Shellhammer was born in 1962 in Pennsylvania. In his kindergarten years, he was self-taught in painting hundreds of watercolor paintings on leftover white cardboard which holds the instant handi-wipe rag that was popular in the 60s and 70s. After so many watercolor paintings he has done and with this going on, his grandmother decided to get him the oil set in the Christmas of 1973. He sold numerous paintings at the local hospital year round exhibition for fundraising and had several national shows across America including that he landed first place in a portrait competition at Pittsburgh Center for the Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1980 before entering college.   

Later in Teen Life:  

During his high school days, he was helped by a friend Art Professor Jeanne Conner since there was no art program available at the high school to prepare to enter the college level. He was accepted to Carnegie-Mellon University, his father’s alma mater and graduated in 1984 with a B.F.A. degree in Metalwork and a minor in Painting. During his college days, he received several tops of the class achievement and monetary awards in his freshman, junior and senior years in academics and Art. In addition to this, his first prized national recognition show was the following year after graduation, the “Prospective Artists” (only 7 artists were invited to this show from the whole city of Pittsburgh) at the Pittsburgh Plan for Art in Oakland, PA in 1985.  Hit hard still by the domino effect from the recession of 1982, living in the red rust belt region, his mother suggested he go into the medical field since he had a medical drawing research background. At first, he worked various jobs as a freelance artist, on-call teacher and cleaning floor then entered into the nursing home and hospital care full time for four years while pursuing metalwork, painting and exhibiting hundreds of his works locally and in regional states area.

 Later and travel experience:  
At the beginning of the year 1990, he decided to pursue his metalwork for more experience in precious metals silver and gold. He landed a job as a metal polisher exclusively for Paloma Picasso’s bracelet for one company then moved up from company to company into becoming a diamond setter and senior jeweler well into the early year of 2000. Along with this career, he opened his first art and jewelry gallery in 1997 until it was too much involvement running it and not producing his own work, it closed in 2000 but was put online in 2003 on various websites including his own for painting and sculpture suggested by friends, especially his oldest brother. He pauses from this practice of doing jewelry to free up more time to do something far out experience relating to the art as in inspiration precisely for painting. Before 2003, he studied computers for web knowledge and online exhibition for two years so he can travel to the unknown world outside of the United States of America without having to stay in one place to exhibit his work and this is the purpose of doing this online shows in which is unlimited and always open 356 days a year. He still continues exclusively doing full-time painting, exhibiting worldwide in galleries and mostly online exhibitions and traveling to Canada and especially to the Far East of the world as Japan, Taiwan, Guam, China, and the second home in the Philippines since 2003.   The history and up to several prime articles of the Artist can be found in the permanent collection and record at the Main Museum Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, go to the link and click here, http://www.carnegielibrary.org/research/art/pittsburgh/pghartists.html

Education:  Received Bachelor of Fine Arts, (B.F.A.) in Metalsmiths and Painting in 1984 from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa, U.S.A.

SHOWS AND COMPETITIONS:
2020, November: Art Auction, sponsored by Persad Center, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
2015, May to June: Westmoreland Art Nationals, Juried Exhibition, Westmoreland County, PA. U.S.A.
2015, April: Art For Change Auction, sponsored by Persad Center, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A. Awarded as "Honorable Mention".
2014, July: Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, Westmoreland Art Nationals, www.pinterest.com purchase art competition. Awarded as "Purchase Award".
2014, June/July: Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, Westmoreland Art Nationals, Juried Exhibition, Twin lakes, Greensburg, Pa. U.S.A. Awarded "The National Award of Excellence/Best of Both Shows".
2014, June: Dollar Bank Three Rivers Juried Art Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
2014, June: Three Rivers Art Festival, Booth Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA. U.S.A.
2014, June: Westmoreland Art Nationals, Juried Exhibition, Westmoreland County, PA. U.S.A.
2013, July: Image 2013, The Juried Exhibition of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Art, Robeson Gallery, Penn State University, PA. U.S.A.
2013, July: Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, Westmoreland Art Nationals, Juried Exhibition, Twin lakes, Greensburg, Pa. U.S.A.
2013, June: Westmoreland Art Nationals, Juried Exhibition, Westmoreland County, PA. U.S.A.  Awarded as "Best in Show".
2006, February: Erotica 2006, Juried Exhibition, K Space Art Studios/Gallery, Christi, Texas. U.S.A.
2005, October: One World Many Visions, Juried Exhibition, Northbrook Gallery, Chicago. Ill. U.S.A.
2003, June: Three Rivers Art Festival, Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
2002, August: Shadyside Art Festival, Booth Exhibition, Shadyside, PA, U.S.A.
2001, May: One Man Show, Panza Framing Gallery, Millvale, PA. U.S.A.
1999, Persad, Art Exhibition Auction, Carnegie Museum of Art, Oakland, PA U.S.A.
1997, One man Show, Grand Opening, Christopher Shellhammer Gallery (currently on the website only), Neville Island, PA. U.S.A.
1994, November: One Man Show, Panza Framing Gallery, Etna, PA. U.S.A. (moved to Millvale, PA)
1994, June: Three Rivers Art Festival, Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
1994, August: Shadyside Art Festival, Booth Exhibition, Shadyside, PA, U.S.A.
1993, August: Fine Art & Craft Show, Nassau County Museum of Art, Booth Exhibition, Long Island, New York. U.S.A.
1990, November: One Man Show, Blue Sky Gallery (Blue Sky Art Consultant), Shadyside, PA. U.S.A.
1985, March: Sparks, the exhibition for eight artists chosen in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Plan for Art (closed), North Craig St. Oakland, PA. U.S.A.
1983, June: Three Rivers Art Festival, Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
1980, May: Everyman's Show, Pittsburgh Center for the Art, Shadyside, PA. U.S.A.  Awarded as "Best Portrait Award".
1978, May: Annual Youth Conservation Poster Contest for 1978, sponsored by Allegheny County Sportsmen's League. Awarded in 8th place.  

Past association and monthly exhibitions with the galleries are as follow:
Blue Sky Gallery (now Blue Sky Art Consultant), Center Ave. Shadyside, PA. 1990 to 1994.
Concept Art Gallery, Braddock Ave. Swissvale, PA. 1985 to 1990.
Carson Street Gallery (closed), Carson St. South Side, PA. 1984 to 1985.
Other relating professions: Temporary installment as an Anatomy/Drawing Instructor under Cletus Anderson, Dean of Pittsburgh Costume and Set Designers at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. 1990.  
I would like to give special thanks to the following current and past partners for my work as an artist along with the important supporters in general during and from three decades:
American Heart Association, (commercial)
Art in America, magazine, New York. Artscan Blue Sky Gallery (now as Blue Sky Art Consultants).PA. CNN, Cable News Network, www.cnn.com Concept Art Gallery, PA. Cochlear Implant ( fundraising), Pittsburgh, PA. http://www.speakmiracles.org Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, PA. Carnegie-Mellon University, PA. Carnegie Museum of Art, PA. Carson Street Gallery, PA. Hasting Street Ballroom, Detroit, MI. In Pittsburgh, magazine. PA. Internet Art Resources K Space Art Studios/Gallery, Christi, Texas. Nassau County Museum of Art, New York. National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Philippines.(website) Northbrook Gallery/Library, Chicago. Ill. Panza Gallery, PA. Pittsburgh Plan for the Art, PA. Pittsburgh Center for the Art, PA. Pittsburgh Magazine, PA. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/past Pittsburgh Press, PA. Shadyside Arts Festival, PA. Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Three Rivers Arts Festival, PA. Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival and Westmoreland Art Nationals, Westmoreland County, PA.
Women Breast Cancer Society, PA. And many to count for.   Deep special thanks to the country of the Philippines. Maraming Salamat (Thank you very much).

To all the clients in the world in which several hundreds of works are collected and sold outside of the United States are splendid and wonderful. I give them the vast amount of heart warming gratitude and appreciation for supporting my work in a rightful manner. 

Wisdoms and Thoughts shared by the Artist for you:

There is no such thing as a small mind, just big ego.

Drawing and Painting is an ultimate universal language that even an uneducated caveman from 2 million years ago understands it today as a whole or part. Everything else is secondary, often confusing and creating cultural miscommunication.

I am not responsible for what I see but I am responsible for what I paint.

Everything here on our planet belongs to everyone and not even one person owns it. The planet was here long before man and will be here long after we are gone. Be mindful, we are just here temporarily on borrowed time, so try to make the best of it.

Common sense is the best and ultimate law to follow, above all artifical law of politics and religions, use it wisely.

Perfection has no place in humanity but we have every right to make progress.  

A Story to Tell
Upon seeing this,
my memories and experiences,
Life is an originator of an idea of my living.
A great cosmo and owns my spirit.

The purpose of my being here is unknown.
All I know, it's a beautiful gift being here.
At night, as I lay down to rest, my tired body.
I surrender the single sheet of darkness,
so that I may see the morning star rise
with a clear open mind.
To draw more of Life's behavior
instead of human errors that our human race
once taught me in all those years.

Perfection has no place in humanity,
but I have every right to make progress,
to be right with myself, within.

                                  - by Christopher Shellhammer