Jamie Shelman

I like pointing at dogs and boppin cats on the head. I love NYC and lived there for several years and on Martha's Vineyard. I grew up with a lot of sun and freckles in Arizona. When I was little I had a grey cat named John Wayne. I also had a lot of chubby hamsters who used to break out of their cages and roam free in the potting soil. I graduated from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2006, although I've been drawing and painting since the hamster days! I love art that can be made with pen and paper on my desk or kitchen table. I draw and paint everyday, sometimes the neighbors cat acts as a muse but more often than not my work ends up being a self portrait of my everyday. We laugh a lot. I hope you laugh too! I currently live with my husband, collaborator and artist Tom in a forest with swaying dangerous 500 ft tall trees, have you ever been hit by a tree? It hurts!

When we're not drawing, painting or creating stories we're riding our bikes, doing the NY Times crossword puzzle, watching the Tour de France and drinkin cafe au lait! We also teach a number of online art courses. Which you can find out more about at our website:

I grew up in Arizona with a lot of sun and freckles. I graduated from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2006 and lived between Martha's Vineyard and NYC for a number of years before currently settling in Baltimore, MD (which is somewhere suitably between depressive MV and manic NYC) with my husband, artist, and fellow RISD grad Tom Meyer.

I've loved squeezing cats and drawing since childhood and opened my online shop The Dancing Cat in 2008 as a place to share my fine art and prints, which seek to capture the ridiculous nature of the everyday, often in the form of bloated cats!

When I'm not drawing or painting I'm riding my bike, watching the Tour de France and fluffin up the neighbor's cat Nike who tries to break into our room at night and suffocate me!

I also teach a number of online art courses focused on creative thinking at The Dancing Cat Art School and Pikaland Bootcamp, and am working on several books and upcoming exhibitions! The best way to stay in touch is to sign up for our newsletter!