Meet the Artist
Alan Shuptrine, a resident of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, has been an artist for all of his life. Known as a fine arts painter and master craftsman, his favorite medium is watercolor. Renowned for his realistic watercolors and oils, he is also sought after for his gold leaf work in one-of-a-kind frames, and gold leaf period restoration and conservation work. Shuptrine's mastery of craftsmanship can be found nationwide in both museum and private collections. The son of recognized painter, the late Hubert Shuptrine, (1936-2006), Alan has continued the legacy of Realism that both Andrew Wyeth and his father Hubert established. A special collection of his works was highlighted in his solo museum exhibition,
Alan Shuptrine: Appalachian Watercolors of the Serpentine Chain, that traveled to 4 Southeastern museums. Along with Shuptrine's Gallery, Alan's work can be found at the Grand Bohemian Galleries in Asheville, NC and Birmingham, AL; as well as Paderewski Fine Art and The Sportsman's Gallery, Ltd. (Nashville, TN; Charleston, SC; Beaver Creek, CO.) and The FLOW Gallery, Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, SC.
Alan was the 2023 Artist in Residence at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton SC for August and was selected as one of the Best In Watercolor by Watercolor Magazine, Summer 2024. In 2025, Alan will be the Artist in Residence at The Carnegie Club, Skibo Castle with a corresponding exhibition of his works.
A painter known for his realistic watercolors, oils, gold leaf, and handmade framing, the artist’s bold, yet sensitive and thought-provoking works are in the permanent collections of several American museums and hundreds of corporate and private collections nationwide. Born the son of recognized painter, Hubert Shuptrine (1936-2006), Alan has continued the legacy of realism that both Andrew Wyeth and his father Hubert established; and now with an exhibit of his works in Florence, Italy, he has garnered international recognition as well.
Covered by publications such as Fine Art Connoisseur, American Artist Magazine, Watercolor Artist Magazine, Okra, and numerous others, Shuptrine garnered additional recognition when he was asked to participate in the exhibit, In the Tradition of Wyeth: Contemporary Watercolor Masters at The Vero Beach Museum of Art in 2010. The exhibition opened with Alan’s paintings displayed alongside the works his two childhood heroes: his father and Andrew Wyeth.
Following the museum exhibition at Vero Beach, Shuptrine launched, Alan Shuptrine: Appalachian Watercolors of the Serpentine Chain. This was a solo 2-year, 4-museum traveling exhibition from 2017 to 2019 that showcased over 80 of his paintings about the Celtic roots of Appalachia and the traditions of our ancestors. With Best Selling author and National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year, Jennifer Pharr Davis, Alan collaborated on a self-published coffee table book titled I Come From A Place. The book was awarded the Gold Medal IPPY (Independent Publisher’s Award) for Best Regional Non-Fiction.
Shuptrine continues to create themed collections of his work while planning future museum exhibitions, speaking engagements, appearances at national literary and art showcases, and workshop. In Fall of 2022, Alan was invited to exhibit his gilded works, as well as teach a master course on water gilding curriculum, at The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. He will return in 2024 as an encore instructor. His 2023 will be focused on watercolor, oil on canvas, and gilded, sgraffito panels, as well as traveling to Scotland for inspiration on a new collection of watercolors as an encore to I Come From a Place.
Biography
Artist in Residence, 2023, Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, SC
Coastal Treasures, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Fall, 2023
Southern Watercolor Society Juried Members Exhibition, 2023
Featured Artist, Greenville Center for Creative Arts, Greenville, SC, Feb 2023
Featured Artist, Grand Bohemian Gallery – The Kessler Collection, Asheville, NC, Fall 2022
American Watercolor Society, Associate Members Exhibition, 2022
Featured Artist, Paderewski Fine Art & The Sportsman’s Gallery Ltd.
A Gilded Age, Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy, September 2022
Arts at Erlanger, Erlanger Baroness Hospital, Chattanooga, TN, 2021 and 2022
ArtFields, Selected Artist and Featured Speaker, Lake City, SC, 2021 and May 2022
First Place and Best in Show for Watercolor, Mountain View Americana Art Show, South Carolina, 2021
Featured Artist, Grand Bohemian Gallery – The Kessler Collection, Birmingham, AL, Dec 2019 – December 2020
Biltmore Farms Featured Speaker, Asheville, NC, May 2019
Reframed: American Women from the Sellars Collection featuring framing by Alan Shuptrine, The Huntsville Museum of Art, Summer 2019
Alan Shuptrine: Appalachian Watercolors of The Serpentine Chain, Tennessee State Museum (Nashville, TN) in May, 2017, Morris Museum of Art (Augusta, GA), January-April, 2018; Huntsville Museum of Art (AL), May- August, 2018; Museum Center a 5ive Points (Cleveland, TN), September 2018-January, 2019.
In the Tradition of Wyeth: Contemporary Watercolor Masters, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach FL, 2011-2012
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, Tennessee Association of Museums, Nashville, TN, 2016
Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition, Nashville, TN, 2016
Water Gilding: A Lost Art, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL, 2016
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, The Poinsett Club, Greenville, SC, 2016
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, The Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville, NC, 2015
The Bascom Guest Instructor Exhibition, Highlands, NC, 2014
Hudson Valley Art Association Juried Exhibition, New York, 2013
National Watercolor Society Members Only Juried Exhibition Finalist, 2012
National Watercolor Society, Finalist in Members Juried Exhibition, San Pedro, California, 2011
The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, Members Exhibition, Highlands, NC, 2010
Tennessee Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Chattanooga, TN, 2010
Salmagundi Art Club Floral Exhibition, NY, 2010
Huntsville Museum of Art Annual Gala, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL, 2009
The Southern Watercolor Society Juried Annual Exhibition Finalist, 2009
Spectrum, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, 2009
Salmagundi Art Club Annual Juried Painting/Sculpture Exhibition, Non-Members, NYC, 2008
Tennessee Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Knoxville, TN, 2008
Tennessee Art League Central Art Exhibition National, Nashville, TN, 2008
Southern Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Quincy, FL, 2008
Greenville County Museum of Art Antiques & Exhibitions, Greenville, SC, 2006
exhibitions & collections
Distinguished Alumnus Award, The Baylor School, Chattanooga, TN, 2021
First Place, Best in Show, and Founding Member Award, Mountain View Americana Art Show, South Carolina, 2021
Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Southeastern Non-Fiction Book for I Come From A Place, 2020
Okra Magazine, Southern-Made Artist Spotlight, December, 2019
Blue Ridge Country Magazine Featured Artist, July 2019
Watercolor Artist Magazine, Must-See Show of the Season, October 2017
Watercolor Artist Magazine, Featured Artist, February, 2015
My Artist Portfolio Landscape 2012 International Juried Competition, Honorable Mention, 2012
American Artist Magazine All Media Competition, Watercolor Honorable Mention, 2012
35th Annual Southern Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition Finalist, Winner of the Colart Americas (Winsor and Newton) Award, 2012
Tennessee Watercolor Society Biennial Juried Exhibition Finalist, Winner of the Beauty of Water Media Award, and achieved Signature Membership, 2012
Salmagundi Art Club Annual Juried Exhibition, Certificate of Merit, 2011, NYC
Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition, Outstanding Technical Award, 2010
Cover Finalist for American Artist Watercolor Magazine, Summer 2008 Issue
Artist Colony Annual International Online Exhibition, 2nd Place Overall, 2008
awards & recognition
Permanent Collection, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Permanent Collection, Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN
Permanent Collection, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA
Permanent Collection of The Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Permanent Collections of Textile Rubber, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Permanent Collection of Fletcher Bright Realty, Tennessee and Georgia
Permanent Collections of over 80 individual watercolors and fine handmade frames privately collected in the United States and Japan for The Serpentine Chain Collections.
Permanent Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Al Peabody, Greenville, South Carolina
Permanent Collection of Mr. James Dicke, Crowne Corporation, Ohio
Permanent Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Robertson, New York, NY.
Permanent Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Underwood, New Jersey
Private Collections, North and South Carolina
Private Collections, Alabama
Private Collections, Tennessee
Private Collections, Georgia
Private Collection, Florida
Private Collection, Louisiana
Private Collection, South Carolina
Private Collection, Watercolor and Gilded pieces, Japan
And other permanent and private collections that are too numerous to name individually. Shuptrine continues to provide commission pieces to individual clientele.
CollectionS
Guest Water Gilding Instructor, Florence Academy of Art, September 2022
Master craftsman of Gilded Frames for Permanent Collection of Andrew Wyeth original watercolors, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina.
Restoration and Conservation of Permanent Collection, post-Hurricane Katrina, Permanent Collections, New Orleans Museum of Art
Restoration and Conservation of Gilded Historical Period Antiques, The Swan House, The Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Gold Leaf restoration of period Antiques, The Georgia Governor’s Mansion, Atlanta, Georgia
Restoration and Conservation of Gold Leaf, and fine paintings, of the Natchez Historical Park, Natchez, Mississippi
Water Gilding and Period Restoration Acknowledgments
Birmingham Museum of Art, AL
Booth Western Art Museum, GA
Greenville County Museum of Art, SC
Hunter Museum of American Art, TN
Huntsville Museum of Art, AL
Morris Museum of Art, GA
New Orleans Museum of Art, LA
The Bascom, Highlands, NC
Vero Beach Museum of Art, FL
Watercolor and Gold Leaf Workshops and Demonstrations
