I have been a folk artist most of my adult life. But when I first saw the art of the santeros of Northern New Mexico, almost 20 years ago, everything changed.  I became a saintmaker. Since then, I’ve worked almost exclusively at Hispanic-style folk art. I hand carve and paint saints, angels, nativities, Noah’s Arks…and most recently Santas. After all, Santa is a saint too.

My work has been featured in Galeria Ortiz, located in Market Square, and the Ursuline Gallery at the Southwest School of Arts and Crafts, in San Antonio, along with galleries in Fredericksburg and Round Top.  In August 2007, I was artist-in-residence in Butte, Montana (Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation).

I am also a novelist. My first novel, Dead and Dying Angels, was optioned for film by award-winning producer, Bruce Gilbert (On Golden Pond, The China Syndrome, 9 to 5, etc). My second novel, The Vinegaroon Murders, won the 2006 Violet Crown Award for Best Fiction. The third novel in the trilogy, Stalking Azazel, will be published in 2010.

My wife, Sid, and I, recently wrote our first children’s book, The Fairy and the Chupacabra and Those Marfa Lights (published by John M. Hardy Publishers). I illustrated it in a unique folk art style. It is set in West Texas and is bilingual.  The Fairy and the Chupacabra is now in bookstores.
I enjoy being a writer, but I LOVE being an artist. My work often falls somewhere between folk art and fine art…a place that I love.

www.shinerville.com