Being an image maker affords me the opportunity to produce work that highlights the humanity of the viewer by illustrating the humanity of the subject. My creative process focuses on the interaction between the work and its audience. My goal is for the viewer to experience the mystery of creation while engaging with the portrait. The work’s evolution into art has everything to do with the dance between the painting and the viewer.

My primary subjects reflect the multiple aspects of the Black/Africanist experience in a society that confines Blackness to being the antithesis of whiteness and a response to racialized subjugation. Authentic portrayals of the Black body are of particular interest to me simply because there is no other subject I find as complex, misrepresented, and misunderstood.

Being a native of West Baltimore has taught Artist Ernest Shaw the meaning of perseverance, community, and integrity. As a product of Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore School for the Arts, Morgan State University, and Howard University, Shaw recognizes the importance of using his skills and talents for the betterment of others, not simply for his own self-aggrandizement. For Ernest, teaching is also an artistic medium.