im a live painter who uses recycled and salvaged materials whenever possible.**


my art is CURRENTLY on display at: "urban groove" salon in south austin, the University of Texas Executive confrence center, and many peoples homes.**

i have created live art WITH: lipp service, mimosa, ian ross, rhett johnson, michael garfield, chairlift, PRAANG, explosions in the sky, gaslamp killer, James Christopher, ghostland observatory, prefuse 73, mad professor, greyboy all stars, ana sia, ESKMO, welder, future rock, Bonobo, vibesquad, OTT, the egg, pretty lights, rena jones, bluetech, sacred science, sub-ID, jacob fred jazz odessey, dubconscious, grimy styles, EOTO, moving matter, pnuma trio, lotus, glitch mob, BLVD, new monsoon, RAQ, topaz, dimitri's ascent, toast, funkatron, eliot lipp, dj danny corn, dj E.L.F.**

i have created live art AT: aces lounge, burningman 2009 nevada, sonic bloom 2009 colorado, wakarusa 2009 arkansas, bonnaroo 2009 Tennessee, project imagine, art city austin 08 and 09, auditorium shores, palmer events center, 1015 folsom in SFCA, plush lounge in Tucson, 2009 gem and jam at the Rialto theater in Tucson, the masquerade in ATL, coalessence festival 2008 in arkansas, the 2008 crystallization fest in denver, Bside lounge in boulder CO, diversity festival 2008 in Tulsa, wakarusa festival 2008 in Lawrence, Lightning in a bottle fest 2008 in Santa Barbara, flamingo cantina, club dub dub in houston, the enchanted forest, 2008 tucson gem and jam, the parish room, ruta maya coffee co, irie bean coffee bar, club 115, austin christmas bazaar. **

i have displayed art in the PAST at: austin art outside 2009, gem and jam 2009, the beauty store salon, the texas state capital, "indigenous" in vermont, cocoon bodywork studio, austin art outside at the enchanted forest, J.P.'s java, firehouse lounge, irie bean coffee bar, thundercloud subs, austin christmas bazaar, trudys mexican restaurant, gravity boutique in santa cruz.

Todd Shepherd is an up and coming artist whose paintings are already setting an example for other artists on how to make art come alive. "Artwork is an entity in itself and if it isn't made to breathe and flourish, then it's just not made with the right intentions." Not everybody can pull that off but Todd is certainly one of the artists able to create works that have their own personality, and that speak to you on multiple levels.

“ Painting makes me feel a deep connection to the universe,” Todd claims. "Art is a portal to distant realms and intimate places inside your mind, where the true outer space dwells." Shepherd seeks creations that open that kind of doorway. It's what brings the viewer back to his work time and time again. One view, one experience, and you have to revisit the far off/close-by places that Shepherd's art causes to be expressed in the mind's eye.

“Art makes me happy because it brings like-minded people together to celebrate life." he said. "Besides being a gateway to self-discovery and self-awareness, art is also a portal to other people. Displaying and viewing art brings together people of like-mind who might not have otherwise discovered each other. It's also a way to find new people with different ideas. Great art is a visual highway of non-verbal communication."

“Art helps me focus on being present and living in the now,” Shepherd says. "The past is an important educator and the future is a source of goals but nothing is more important than being in the now. And the poignancy of this art brings one to a place of immediacy that helps to appreciate the now, to forget the threat of the future and the harms of the past and find pure joy in life." Todd's artwork ably accomplishes this for its viewers, drawing them in to a specific place that provides the escape and fulfillment people seek in modern expression.

“My biggest inspiration is nature ... outer space to be specific.” This is readily apparent when you first see the works of Shepherd. It conjures up the geography of outer space, the realm of the distant and awe-inspiring. Todd's art could be the perfect graphic to describe an out of body experience into other places beyond one's self and right inside one's own skull. Shepherd composes colorscapes that are engaging and truly hypnotic, scenes that carry the viewer far away. “I see satellite images of nebulae, galaxies and other planets and I wonder what entertains them out there.”

According to Shepherd, not an hour goes by that some piece of art isn't concocted in his studio or in his head. Creation is too much a part of him and the fact that his passion runs this deep is evidence of just how rich his compositions are.

what an amazing new years experience i had! hope yall had a good one as well.
09 is looking bright. got some commissions to finish up now that im back home, and im prepared to paint with Orchard Lounge on the 17th and then Vibesquad on the 23rd both at the parish on 6th. then im off to colorado for some snow and music and then to tucson to participate in the 2009 gem and jam festival in early february.
thanks for coming by and supporting my work.
much love in 2009
todd

a group of austin family are headed down to Atlanta, Georgia to see 4 nights of sts9 in the tabernacle! ill be participating by performing live painting at the afterparties each night.
happy new year! 2009 is sure to impress.

thanks for the interest in my art..the past two weekends have been a huge success. ive completed several live paintings and managed to move a few older pieces through art raffles. now im back in the studio preparing for more live painting events in december.