ARTIST BIO

Surya O'Shea was born in San Francisco in 1972. Though born in the city, Surya and his family would not stay long, quickly moving to the backwoods of northern California. His entire youth was spent wandering in the hills and forests, lost in his imagination.
Surya has this to say about the subjects of his paintings: "My artwork features grungy little lads and lasses of the elfish/gnomish variety; jolly, silly, and good-natured. These folk are representations of the side of my personality that is simple and happy, and my hope is that when people see the work they will connect to that side of themselves as well."
More specifically, he says this about his creatures: "They are idle, to be certain, caring little for work or toil of any kind. They live on mushrooms, apples, beer, buttered scones and Paddies (a type of bread-cake). They care very little (or not at all) for tomorrow or the day after or anything in the future, for that matter. They live the way I would prefer to live, if I had the choice: surrounded by nature, unfamiliar with stress, unencumbered by the modern world. I suppose I live vicariously through them, and I hope others will to."
Surya currently lives in Arcata, California with his wife, Siobhan, and their two children.