ABOUT THE ARTIST

Allison Shulman is a soft pastel artist from Rochester, New York. She studied drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design and Rochester Institute of Technology, and then earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in 2020 in the Drawing, Painting and Photography division at Alfred University in Alfred, NY. She then went on to enjoy coursework in psychology at Monroe Community College and Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, while continuing to explore with pastels in private lessons, workshops, and in her home studio. 

 Allison’s fascination with psychology stems from her own lifelong struggles with mental wellness. Her passion for drawing and tendency for introspection led to the surprising realization that each of the large, abstract and often vibrant drawings evolving on the page before her were tangible manifestations of the kaleidoscope of emotions within her. Allison is attracted to the immediacy of the color and texture of soft pastels, as these qualities lend themselves to the spontaneity of gestural mark-making and rapid nature of her work. Each drawing that is produced is a self-portrait, a visual narrative of a moment of being.

In June 2023, Allison entered her first juried art exhibition with the Pastel Society of Western New York and won the Best in Show award for "Phoenix Rising."