Meet Sharmeke Shaw | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sharmeke Shaw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharmeke, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always had an entrepreneur spirit and mentality, in fact my first business was selling candy at school and from my house. Once I became popular I would be sold out by first period. Upon going to college I formed a t shirt business that didn’t take off how I wanted to but I kept tapping in to ideas. Upon graduation I started my own skateboard line which then lead to what I do now, art.

I would say my thought process has always been finding the best way to work for myself. I never simply wanted to just have a job. I wanted to be able to plant a seed and watch it grow and I believe that is what I’m doing now.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to dabble in a little bit of everything as far as painting but my bread and butter is who greyscale oil portraits. What I love the most about painting people is feeling like I am getting to know them during that short time. I love greyscale because of all the details I can not only see but feel. To make my paintings a little fun I like to add a pop of color somewhere in the painting.

When I first started painting 3 years ago I was just trying it out. After freelancing work for my skateboard line I was realizing how expensive it was and I knew I would last long paying those types of prices so I said, “what if I could do it myself”. I never thought I would developer the passion that I have now.

Starting out it was a little scary because I didn’t know how people would take to my art. This was my new baby and I didn’t want anyone talking bad about it. But it was also so exciting because I was getting a new purpose on life during a hard time in my life. So although I was experiencing a lot of hurt during that time, I was finding so much joy tapping into this new talent.

Thanks to my solid foundation of family and friends it started to take off unlike anything I could have imagined. Every time I would post a completed project someone would reach out asking for their own custom painting. You would think during the pandemic things would have been slower for me due to people not working but it was the complete opposite. I was getting more work and having all that time to create and not worry about my day job was pure bliss. In fact it was in those moments where I knew growing my own brand was what I was truly meant to do.

Along the way I have learned how not to be so hard on myself and to just let things unfold because my purpose can not and will not be denied. I have learned to just focus on what I can control and what’s right in front of me. To have my faith so that I don’t have to worry myself about how I’m going to get to each level.

Ultimately I want people to know that their purpose will not be denied. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to discover that purpose, it belongs to you and no one can take that away from you. The Shaw Made It brand is all about reminding people of that and doing what I can to bring smiles to faces. When it’s all said and done my hope is that I have grown in such a way that I could create jobs and opportunity for others, help my local community, and got as many homeless people off the street as possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s funny you ask this, at this part of my life I’m more of a home body lol but here are some of my favorite things to do.

If I had a friend coming in town for the week I would make sure we went to these places to eat,

Fuel city for some tacos. Could be early or after a late night out.
The Boiling Pot- for your seafood boil. This place is small spot out in east Plano. The food is seasoned to perfection and always comes out piping hot!
Pappadeaux- because it’s a Texas favorite! Everybody loves a swamp thing.
Also any where in the uptown area is always good to try.

Outside of eating depending on the time of year I definitely would have to take my friend the Texas State Fair. There is nothing like it. Turkey leg when I first get there and Turkey leg on the way out is how it should be. A cowboys game is always a must for as I am a BIG football fan and even BIGGER Dallas Cowboys fan.
Catching an art show in deep Ellum is also a must.

Outside of those things I like to keep it pretty chill and local. My nearest bar is a good time for a quick drink or two. And one of my favorite things to do is to catch a movie and then hit up Kona grill late night happy hour.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people deserve recognition for helping me get to where I am today from my parents to the everyday support of my friends. Honestly they are my foundation and are truly the reason I have been able to continue to get better.

Specifically when it comes to me being an artist I have to give credit to my guys Adriane (@loosemedium) and Edurado (florentinoartwork). They are the two artist I worked with on my skateboard line and I had no idea about the process of art work and how much work it took. Every time I seen something new they created I was amazed and was wishing I could do something like it. Everyday I was growing to respect art more and more.

One day I decided to just try. That was almost 3 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

Website: Www.shawmadeit.com

Instagram: @shawmadeit

Facebook: Facebook.com/shawmadeit

Youtube: YouTube.com/shawmadeit

Image Credits
Dee Kyles