Sheila Fein was born in Queens, New York and has lived in Los Angeles since 1987. Sheila Fein is inspired by the changing world around her. Earning her BA in Design from Buffalo State College of New York, her concentration was on drawing and painting, graphic design, writing, and photography. Sheila’s education as an artist has taken her everywhere from New York, to Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, to Bath University in England.
Sheila’s love for life drawing began in high school where she accrued college credits at CW Post college on Long Island allowing her to graduate from college early to begin her career. Since she never wanted to stop her drawing education, she created and ran figurative life drawing workshops from the early 80’s in Albany New York, and then again for over 15 years in Thousand Oaks, and Los Angeles county. During this time she also taught privately students of all ages helping them to release their individual drawing style.
Sheila’s paintings and drawings, Fein Fantasy Portraits, and illustrations have been collected by individuals and corporations in the Greater Los Angeles area, across the USA, and abroad. Her work has been published in books, book covers, magazines, as well as online interviews and art shows.
Sheila has curated art shows and continues to show her work in solo and group exhibitions. She feels you never stop learning and it is important to not only go inward to discover yourself, but to be part of the art community and share the journey.
In addition to being a fine artist, Sheila works as an illustrator. She recently illustrated the book “Mama Graciela’s Secret” for Maclaren-Cochrane Publishing and “My Milk Will Go, Our Love Will Grow” for an independent author published by Ingram Spark as well as the Okelani Enchanted Wheel Chair series for Kamoke publishing. Sheila is a PAL Artist and a member of (SCBWI) Society of Children’s Book Writing and Illustration and has been part of the Colored Pencil Society.
Artist Statement
I view the world in a fantastical and dreamlike way. I am enamored with classical art as well as our popular culture. Everything is always new to me and I delight in experimentation. Odd moments with people, the natural world, and objects catch my attention. I seek to surprise the viewer and myself with unexpected perspectives. My philosophy is to work with the critic off my shoulder and let my imagination be my guide. I am about letting go and following the strongest voice in my head.
Style & Form
As an artist, Sheila Fein makes her unique study of the imagination a reality through classical drawing techniques. Dreamlike and fantastical, her diverse body of work is filled with bright images with a touch of the surreal and nods to popular culture. She uses oil pastels on cardboard to create her newest figurative work of woman, and the Tomboy to create her ink series, “Just a Line”. Her love of experimentation with mediums has lead her to use acrylics, oil, oil pastels, pastels, the colored pencil, the Tombow brush pens, and digital illustration. She feels that each medium has brought her a new form of expression.
Sample Collectors
Her artwork is in the collections of corporations, galleries, and private individuals in the United States and abroad. As a lover of popular culture, Sheila is proud to name actress, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers Movies), Bob Marx (the Marx Brothers’ estate), Richard Riordan (former mayor of Los Angeles), and actress Connie Stevens as some of her past collectors. In addition, “Transition,” Sheila’s portrait of pre-inaugural Bill Clinton, has been in the collection of the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas since 2005. Recently, “Eyes on Pears”, an acrylic on paper was seen on the NBC show Superstore (2017), starring America Ferrara.