Shawn Ahkeah

Shawn Ahkeah is a full-blood Dine’ (Navajo) artist based out of the Four Corners area of Cortez, Colorado & Shiprock, New Mexico. His interest in creating art began in early childhood with his mother always supplying him with art supplies (crayons). He attended all of his years of education in Cortez taking every art class there was to offer and obsorbing all he could from his instructors. Although he has no formal art training, Shawn is a self-taught artist. His main mediums are acrylics, charcoal, and graphite although he is also interested in exploring and utilizing other media in his works.

Mr. Ahkeah’s work depicts the beauty of the Dine’ people and their culture. He strikingly conveys that beauty by using his visual vocabulary and the rich colors of the american southwest to paint an image that enables the viewer to see the allure of his culture through his eyes.

“The Dine’ have a very rich and enduring culture living on the most colorful lands in the americas. My inpirations come from just living in the southwest and absorbing all the natural colors of the land. I try to show that in my paintings by utilizing these colorful earthly tones and  sharp distinct lines to convey seperations of lights and darks. I try to also use certain colors to set the mood of the paintings as well as facial expressions on my main  subjects to give the people boldness and mood. All combined, I try to portray the Dine’ culture and its people as beautifully as possible.”