Sean Sheppard Talks Art Journey & Turning Homes Into Masterpieces Through Silver Crow Studios Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Amy Payne
As a teenager sitting in Paul Engle’s art class at Brown County High School, Sean Sheppard didn’t know the impact that his hard-nosed teacher would have on him. The Simon Cowell of the art world, Engle didn’t sugarcoat anything for his students but rather told it like it was. One day, he asked Sheppard to point out his favorite part of one of his pieces. When he did, Engle erased it and told him to do it again. “At the time, I thought, ‘What a jerk,’” Sheppard says. “But he told me I had to learn that nothing was precious in my painting.”
During his senior year, Engle set up Sheppard with back-to-back art classes, and he took his students to meet world-famous Brown County artists such as Bill Root, Dwight F. Steininger and Joe Shell. “At the time, you don’t realize the incredible training you’re getting,” Sheppard says. In fact, he says he learned more about art in high school than he did in college. “I recall sitting in an art history class at IU thinking, ‘How is this going to make me any money?’” Sheppard says. That’s why when he speaks at local schools, 16 / WESTFIELD MAGAZINE / JULY 2020 / WestfieldMag.com
he encourages students to study business rather than art. “If you’ve got a talent, you’ve got it, period,” says Sheppard, who in 2000 founded Silver Crow Studios with David Studley. “But when you get out of school, you’re going to be competing with lots of other talented people. Understanding business is helpful.” Though Sheppard considers himself a “decorative artist,” he’s a jack-of-all-trades in that he does furniture and cabinetry refinishing, carpentry work, custom finishes on walls and flooring, as well as giant murals and masterful fine artwork for people’s homes.
