Artist of the Week: Stevie Shao

Stevie Shao is a Seattle-based illustrator and muralist.

Seattle Refined: How long have you been creating? What mediums do you work with?
Stevie Shao: I've been drawing and painting my whole life, but my most recent practice emerged during the COVID-19 lockdown when I started painting murals and transitioned into being a full-time artist.

Can you tell us about your artistic process and how the different stages work into it? Tell us about where your inspiration for your art comes from.
My work is largely informed by life in the Pacific Northwest and my Chinese heritage. Most of the sensibilities found in the work I'm making now, whether fun or serious, connect to the environment and the "folk" storytelling aspect of everyday life. When I'm starting something new I try to focus on the "story" I'm trying to tell and work with the colors and forms that will help with this. I love finding color schemes in the wild and saving them for the perfect moment when I'm ready to take a sketch to the next level.

Do you have a specific "beat" you like best – nature, food, profiles, etc.?
[What] I love about Seattle is that there is a reverence for the water and the beautiful natural surroundings, and I think it's amazing how all these generations later there are people still making a living doing the same work.

Do you have one piece of art that means more to you or is extremely special to you?
I have a few pieces that come to mind! I'm especially proud of some more recent work I've done — a mural in DC at Alethia Tanner Park, the Crossroads building on the UW campus, and a collaboration for Forest for the Trees with Lauren YS (@squid.licker). The mural in DC really inspired me since it was painted in a city I had barely spent any time in prior — it was painted as a part of a mural festival, DC Walls, alongside a handful of other artists from around the world. It was amazing to see everyone get to know one another and watch them in their element executing such a variety of work. The Crossroads building was an enormous undertaking, with some extreme weather and a fractured timeline. It was physically and mentally really challenging and I'm so grateful that I got to work on such a monumental project for UW that is a part of so many people's commute through the area.

I recently collaborated with Lauren YS, who is visiting Seattle from LA this month, and we created a mural together in a couple of days on the top floor of the historic Railspur building. The image is an homage to Bruce Lee titled "Enter the Dragon." Lauren recently shared a post explaining some of the work Lee did during his lifetime. In "Enter the Dragon," he "showed the symbiotic relationship between colonialism and racism. It included direct references to police harassment of Black people and also the Black martial arts movement."

What experiences in your life have affected your art the most?
Definitely growing up second-generation Chinese American in Seattle.

If we want to see more of your work, where should we go to find it?
You can follow along @stepfrae on Instagram — I'm always plugging shows around the city that are worth checking out, as well as new work wherever I am!

What is next for you? Anything you're working on right now that you're really excited about?
I'm about to head to California to paint in Long Beach Walls with a handful of artists from around the world. Excited to work alongside some amazing creatives and take in another city.

Lastly, how do you take your coffee? (We ask everyone!)
Normally black — but if I'm getting a treat at a coffee shop, I'll take an oat milk latte.

About 'Artist of the Week': This city is packed with artists we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you're wondering just what constitutes art, that's the beauty of it; it's up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.