Alyssa Shaw Headshot.png
 

Hi. I’m Alyssa.

There are two things that make me feel most alive in this world- hiking and painting. While those two things initially started out as separate interests, the lines became blurry over the years and I started getting the majority of my artistic inspiration from the adventures I take.

I’m a huge national parks enthusiast. My “vacations” usually consist of fitting in as many miles of hiking and early wake-up calls as I possibly can. (While also gathering pictures for painting inspiration!) I was born and raised in the heart of the midwest- a.k.a. Ohio- and nearly lost my mind when I experienced the “real” mountains of the west! I’m now a firm believer that “west is best” and therefore, tend to paint landscapes to depict that.

From the earliest depths of my childhood memories, all I wanted to be in life was an artist. Rarely was there a time that you wouldn’t find me with some kind of pencil, paintbrush, or sketchbook in hand. My first unofficial “business endeavor” was braiding friendship bracelets and selling them to friends and family at the age of 13. The next year, in 2011, I started an Etsy shop. I experimented with a variety of art mediums, from painting, polymer clay sculpting, sewing, jewelry making and everything in between. (whatever shiny new hobby that happened to catch the attention of my “always-wanting-to-try-new-things” teenage mind!) My interests ebbed and flowed over the years, but painting is the one thing that really stuck with me over the years and shaped me into who I am. Now, at 25 years of age, I cannot imagine a life apart from my easel! Even though some days I have a love/ hate relationship with the canvas, there is never a doubt in my mind that this is what I was born to do. My biggest blessing and curse is that I have the mind of a perfectionist, mixed with the soul of a dreamer, meaning that what I create is very meticulous, and almost always derived from personal adventures. (And occasionally my friends’ adventures!) I feel most authentic when painting dreamy landscapes of places that I have experienced firsthand- each brush stroke reminds me of the sunshine on my skin or the light breezes that shaped the clouds in specific and intricate ways. I tend to paint with colors slightly more bold & vivid than reality- embodying the memories and emotions felt when enjoying the serenity of nature as I bring myself back into that precise moment. I hope that my work will spark something in you to go on adventures and never take a moment in nature for granted!

Why “Hikingbird Creative?”

Why “Hikingbird Creative?”

I have a sketchbook full of a years’ worth of business name ideas and logo doodles. Hummingbirds have always been my artistic muse and favorite animal. They’re kind of like me. Constantly flitting back and forth like I do from idea to idea. I can’t help but get excited when I see one- to me they are a reminder to enjoy the little intricate details of life and to live joyfully and authentically. and I spent hours pondering the different aspects I wanted to present to the world- joy, nature, creativity- and I found a way to combine them all into one idea: Hikingbird Creative.

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“I tend to paint with colors slightly more bold & vivid than reality- embodying the memories and emotions felt when enjoying the serenity of nature as I bring myself back into that precise moment.”

Follow along.