About Shalmah

A Passion for Portraiture

My love for painting was born when I was a young girl at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I received my first formal portrait training at Gebhardt Art School attending adult classes. I went on to study at the Maryland School of Art and Design as a teenager.

Later I earned my BFA from Abilene Christian University (ACU). Moving to New York City, I studied at the Art Students’ League, the foremost school of traditionalist art in America. The predominance of my studies were in figure and portrait painting. I studied anatomy under Robert Beverly Hale, curator of drawing for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I also studied with John Howard Sanden who later became the White House portrait artist for George and Laura Bush. 

My most notable studies were with the late Daniel E. Greene, one of the most accomplished pastel artists in the United States. Learning from Greene’s power of observation granted me a pedagogical perspective on portraiture that I have passed on to many others. Since living in New York I have continued my studies, recently focusing on commissioned work of executive, university, family, and children’s portraiture.

My gift—I have been told—is capturing the essence and spirit of an individual, be it an athlete, bride, puppy, or governor of a state. I work to capture the unseen through the seen, and provide timeless portraiture in the process. Thank you for reading!