Prime

If I am nothing, I am free.
Free from fear, hate, pride, lust, pain, doubt, and iniquity.
If I am nothing, I am free.
Free to believe, intercede, and to love.
Free to rejoice, to overcome, and speak truth.
If I am nothing, I am free.
-Shannon

The preceeding poem has been published in a poetry book entitled "Timeless Voices". It can be seen around the frame of the painting to your left.

This was a very big thing for Shannon. With the way the world (America) has pushed Christianity out of its courts and schools, it was very surprising that he would be allowed to share his work with children in a public school!

This year was a huge success for Shannon. This year his inventory has expanded to not only include paintings but clothing that sports his unique designs as well. He raffled two of his paintings during this event, which turned out a great success. As with the year prior, this event yeilded another speaking engagement. This time he will be conducting a workshop entitled "The Artist In Us All" for the Children's Home Society in Greensboro, NC. We are looking forward to next years event! It can only get bigger and better.

Shannon celebrated with friends, family, and potential new art buyers on July 28th during his 2nd artist reception. During this event Shannon sold over 2 paintings. During the month of his exhibition he sold over 6 pieces of artwork. This was a very exciting time for Shannon.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Times-News

Byline: Charity Apple

Apr. 13--Shannon Alston doesn't want you to just look at his artwork and pass it by.

He wants you to spend time with the oil and oil pastel paintings, to really get to know them. That's one reason that this 29-year-old artist has sprinkled his art with scriptures and words like "peace" and "love." The paintings are reminiscent of those Magic Eye computer graphic-enhanced photos from the 1990s, the ones that, if you look at them long enough, you'll start to see hidden images.

"I don't want my paintings to be like once you look at it, that's all you get," he said in an interview. "The more time you spend with it, the more you get from it." Alston said that sometimes, clients have even found images that he doesn't recall placing there. He refers to that as "divine intervention." "I'm just following the leader," he said, pointing toward the heavens. On this par ticular day, he was wearing a black T-shirt that said "These Are My Church Clothes." Shannon and his wife, Brockie, have devoted most of their living room walls to his artwork. One of the first paintings he ever did, "Walk In The Fruit of The Spirit," is in the entranceway. It was a gift to his wife.

An updated version of that particular painting is among the 20 or so on display at the Burlington Artists League Gallery, 2399-B Corporation Parkway, Burlington, starting Saturday. Alston is April's Artist of the Month.

Visitors can view the artwork through April 28. A reception, featuring free food and drinks, is planned for 7 p.m. Saturday. Brockie will prepare the food. A $1 raffle and silent auction will also take place. Coupons toward the purchase of Shannon's paintings will be available.

Alston is unlike any artist you'll ever meet. He's not in it just to make a buck; the guy not only underprices most of his work, he gives a lot of it away.

"I've got this weakness," he said. "I rally for people to have it. It's better to give than receive. I would rather that they have the message than not be able to afford it." Shannon and Brockie, who have five children, are concerned about making the Glen Raven community a better place to live and about improving relationships among residents.

Brockie has created a nonprofit group, Evolution and Victory Inc., in which she hopes to develop exciting Christianenriched programs for area children and adults.

"This all started because of the growth of gangs in this area," she said of their neighborhood. "I wanted somewhere for the children to go that's safe." Brockie is currently applying for grants, and although the group has not received 501-C3 status as of yet, that is one of her goals. This stay-at-home mom and full-time student (she's taking classes on the Internet) hopes one day to open a community center that caters to the residents in Glen Raven.

For now, the Alstons are working on this outreach program out of their own home. Last year, Brockie invited nine kids from the community to her home, and on days when they didn't participate in the Parks and Recreation Department's summer camp, they did crafts and other activities.

"I think when you have children, you feel this need to teach them to be good people," Shannon said. "So many kids nowadays have so much. We just try to teach our kids to be thankful and appreciate the people around them." Their oldest son, Ezra, 9, is quite an artist himself. Shannon showed off a crayon drawing of "Walk In The Fruit of The Spirit," based on his dad's painting.

WHEN HE'S NOT painting, Shannon is a handyman. He restores old wooden furniture, paints and does other jobs.

"Work's pretty steady right now," he said. "God provides." Shannon also restores the frames for all of his artwork.

"God's given me a great talent and I just want to share it," he said. "I just want to make the world a prettier place."

Hours for the BAL Gallery are noon to 8 p.m. Monday - Friday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays; the gallery's number is 584-3005. For details on the nonprofit organization, call 226-5206.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Times-News

Byline: Jeff Wirick

Jul. 26--It takes more than simply a causal look to fully understand Shannon Alston's artwork. There are things in his oil and oil pastel paintings that even surprise Alston.

Take his recent visit to Hillcrest Elementary School, for example.

After speaking to students in his son's class, the 30-yearold Burlington artist noticed a pair of 3-D glasses resting on a desk. He put them on and was surprised to see how they made certain colors in his paintings stand out.

"I think it was because of the amount of paint I used," Alston said. "I'm not afraid to splash some color on them ... It's amazing the difference it made with the glasses on." Those little surprises, and a lot of positive imagery, are what attract art fans to Alston's work.

After painting for just four years, Alston's artwork is hanging in several Burlington locations -- May Memorial Library, Roxie's Diner on Chapel Hill Road and Heavenly Grounds on West Davis Street.

There are plenty of hidden messages in Alston's newest exhibit, which is on display at the Burlington Artists League's new location at Burlington Square Mall. The exhibit will be there until the end of July.

Most of Alston's current abstract pieces include trees in some form or fashion. But that's where the similarities end.

In his piece called "Charity Never Fails," Alston painted a woman giving a man a rose and another man giving a woman a rose. "It's kind of a peace offering," Alston explained.

In a painting called "No Shame," Alston included a Bible passage that he said means "Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame." One of Alston's favorite pieces is called "Heart Land." He made it for his wife, Brockie, and painted each of their five children into the background -- one feeding a pony, another feeding a tiger, another feeding an eagle, another walking hand-inhand with his mother and the last one riding a horse.

ALSTON'S FIRST DRAWINGS were meant to illustrate some of the lessons he heard in church. Friends liked what they saw and encouraged Alston to do more.

"I remember the first day somebody came to the house and wanted to buy one," Alston said. "I was like 'Wow' ... I just love being out there with the people and talking to them about my work." The most important thing for Alston is to deliver an upbeat message. He sells his art under the company name Ram In The Bush Productions to promote the idea of making sacrifices for others.

Alston doesn't just spread that message with his oil paintings. He draws positive images on his clothes and carries around a Bible holster that his brother gave him.

"I want to say that it's OK to look to the Lord," he said.

"It's important to look at life like 'Where can I make a difference?' " There will be a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Burlington Artists League's Burlington Square Mall location, where Alston will unveil one of his newest paintings. The rest of the exhibit will also be on display. Food and refreshments will be provided.

For more information on Alston's artwork, call (336) 226- 5206 or visit www.artmajeur.

com/shannondalston.

This year Shannon along with many other artists participated in the Burlington Artist's League's Annual Holiday Art Walk. The event was held at the Burlington Square Mall. (This is also the location of the Burlington Artist's League's Fine Arts Gallery and where Shannon's work can be seen everyday) During this event Shannon was fortunate to meet new people interested in having him come and speak to their groups. He also sold completely out of greeting cards and was able to sell one of his paintings. And what is most amazing about that is that everything sold in the last two hours of the last day of the event. Praise the Lord! From day one it looked as if the event was going to be unfruitful, but through faith and perserverance the Lord made it a success!

Onward and Upward!

The Delta's will be hosting a fundraiser in Durham at the Hayti Center on Saturday February 23rd at 7:00 pm. Shannon will have a table during this function displaying and selling his work. Come out and support the cause. The address to the Hayti Heritage Center is 804 Old Fayetville Street, Durham.

We have had a great deal of growth since we started this website. Shannon's work is now officially international. This year he had one of his pieces taken to CHINA! Wow! this is mind-blowing. We are really revved up about the wonderous things that the Lord has allowed to take place in our lives. It seems that most of the time we are going along on our way not really experiencing anything spectactular and then BOOM something happens that kicks us up a notch. It is really exciting to be in this time. We are almost anxious to see what this year has in store. The Lord truly is up to something great in our lives. Continue on with us and He unveils His perfect plan for our lives.






Picture: Shannon and his daugther during the Annual Holiday Art Walk.

This year our organization raised funds to help the American Heart Association in efforts to fight and cure heart disease. Shannon's artwork was a very important factor in our fundraising efforts. Once again, our returns were increased as we used this opportunity to talk with fellow members of our community and city and shared our vision with those that were willing to listen.

As a result of your support we were able to send a $30 donation to the American Heart Association. Thank you to all of you who came out and supported us. Also thank you Windy for your generous contribution to our display this year!

For those of you that don't know Windy, check out her work by visiting our links section. The link is called Art By Windy.

Meet Windy, one of Shannon's closest art friends......

By CHARITY APPLE/Times-News
2008-02-28 03:01:00

Windy Lampson is a petite, lovely young woman. But the longer you talk with her, a vibrant personality is detected.

That same likability and a bold use of color is what draws art lovers to Lampson’s works. The 27-year-old artist wants you to spend time with and get to know the pieces, as she has.

In “Well, I Do Declare!”, Windy takes a simple moment — a stop at a diner during a family vacation — to capture the facial expressions of her own mother and grandmother. The painting earned her an honorable mention during the Burlington Artists League’s 24th annual fine arts competition, held a few weeks ago.

Another piece that received an honorable mention is “On The Road Again” — it is a passenger’s view of traffic on I-40.

“We were on our way back from a concert in Asheville when I decided to shoot this,” Windy said of the up-close look at vehicles. She keeps a camera in her purse, just in case she decides to shoot something for a future painting.

Windy, a native of Goldsboro, and her husband, Jeff, moved to Alamance County last summer when Jeff was offered a job as events support specialist at Elon University. She enjoys painting full-time now and has paintings on display at the Burlington Artists League’s Fine Arts Gallery inside Burlington Square Mall. An opening reception will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the gallery. The art work will be on display throughout the month of March.

She never planned to be an artist — at least not the kind that paints, anyway.

“I wanted to do ballet,” the energetic brunette said in a recent interview. “But when that didn’t work out, well, I won an art contest in school and thought … this is it. I was just lucky.”

Windy received a bachelor of fine arts degree in studio art from East Carolina University, Greenville, in 1998, a bachelor of fine arts degree in art education in 2003, and a master of fine arts degree, with a concentration in painting, in 2005. She went on to teach elementary art classes in Orlando, Fla., and Richmond, Va. Currently, she shares her knowledge of art with children at Arts Alive Studio in downtown Burlington.

One of her elementary school students in Richmond inspired the painting “The Girl in The Yellow Hat.”

“We were just having a good time one day and she put on this hat,” she said.

Other pieces on display show Windy’s more whimsical side — there’s a close-up of those little conversational candy hearts found at Valentine’s Day — and a shot of a barn with a toy jeep out front.

“I pass that every day on (Highway) 70,” she said.

Windy prefers painting people in everyday situations.

“I try to think about light a lot when painting,” she said. “I try to invent colors. I think of it as my way of doing Photoshop.”

Her next goal is to take inanimate objects and make them look more animated.

“I want to do more with food and other objects,” she said.

The Burlington Artists League show is her first solo exhibition in Burlington, however, she does have a show planned in Greensboro at the Blue Diamond Gallery next April and is working on adding more shows to her already busy schedule.

Visit for more information on Windy and her art work.For details on BAL's gallery, call (336) 584-3005.

True love is like a strong tree
It endures in rain and tears
In winds and confusions
In snows and loss
Until sun rays and smiles
are the norm
True love
-Shannon

The painting is Shannon's illustration of the poem that he wrote entitled "True Love". The poem is powerful and true and the painting that accompanies it is just as captivating.

The Burlington Artist League Art Gallery, formally located at the B.M.O.C. in Burlington, NC, has moved to the Burlington Square Mall on Huffman Mill Rd (27215). The move took place on April 15-18 2007. The gallery's new home is at the former Fye Movies and Music spot. Next to Sears and across from the Mall Food Court.

The art gallery is currently looking for more artists. So if you do art or know of someone that does, please come out and join us.

For more information please contact us at the following number: 336-226-5206

Shannon Alston is a fresh new face in the art world. He is from North Carolina. With his Spirit led designs and captivating messages, he is bound to do great things with the gifts that God has given him. Shannon started doing art as a way to unwind and to free himself from bad moods and attitudes. The artwork that resulted he began giving away as gifts and that lead to a suprising demand for his work. The orders began coming and they have been coming ever since. That was almost three years ago. Shannon's gifts have improved as he goes and his work is very eye catching and interesting. It stirs curiosity in the individuals that see it and it has served as converstion startes anywhere it is hung. Shannon does not do the work for money and although he has filled many orders over the years, his desire is to spread the truth of God's Word through his talent. We are excited to see where his work goes in the next year. To date, he has work in several different states; Texas, Nevada, Maryland, and D.C. This is a very awesome adventure and we are enjoying the journey. Travel it with us!

Shannon had a vast inventory during this event. He was able to meet a lot of very different people. He met Ms. McGuire, and she invited him to be a guest speaker at the art school she is an instructor in. The name of that school was Arts Alive, in Burlington NC.