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VICTORIO L SHAW

Victorio Shaw (Karuk/Hupa/Yurok/Apache Mescalero) grew up in an artistic household in Humboldt County, California.  The son of Lyn Risling, Victorio began drawing and painting at young age often depicting scenes from his favorite movie, Star Wars and cartoons like peanuts and Garfield. Drawing soon became his escape and his fortress of solitude, the most reliable and comforting part of his life. 

Having an artist for a mother, creating art just seemed like a normal aspect of life, something that one does. It wasn’t until elementary school that Victorio realized his abilities and connection to art was atypical.  Receiving praise and accolades for something so personal to him gave him purpose beyond comfort and solitude, it gave him his way to shine. 

Later Childhood

As a teenager, Victorio turned his pencils and paint towards, music and sports figures as inspiration for his artwork, being inspired by his other two loves growing up, sports and music. In high school, he took every art class possible receiving excellent early instruction from his high school art teacher. His other great influence was his local Native Art community. Growing up in Humboldt County, he was luck enough to be around artists like his mom, Brian Tripp, and Karen Noble. He always went to their art shows and participated in youth art shows, such as “From the Source,” where he earned many ribbons. 

College

Victorio began college in fall of 1996 at the beginning of the dotcom revolution. It was here in his first year at College of the Redwoods that Victorio began studying digital art, design, as well as fine art.  As an early adopter of digital tools like Adobe Photoshop, Pagemaker, Dreamweaver, and Illustrator, Victorio combined his fine art skills with the rise of technology and the new avenues for art that it has ultimately created. 

Pursuing Graphic Arts, Marketing, Advertising took Victorio to Silicon Valley where he studied in Santa Cruz as well as at San Jose State University before returning to Humboldt State University, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor’s in fine art with an emphasis in graphic design. From there he went on to become a full-time designer and marketing manager at the Cher-Ae-Heights Casino in Trinidad, California.

Post College

For three years Victorio worked in the field of design and marketing while pursuing a side career as a Rock/Metal drummer.  In 2007, Victorio decided to move to San Francisco to pursue a path that would ultimately lead him law school. Victorio’s Native American heritage and his grandfather, Davis Risling’s legacy inspired him to become a Tribal Attorney to make a difference for his community. After graduating UC Davis Law School, Victorio went on to launch a career as a tribal attorney and tribal court judge. Despite his interest in law, Victorio continued to work as a graphic designer and illustrator creating material for organizations, businesses, and events. 

2020 – Present 

During the lockdowns that followed the onset of the pandemic, Victorio was led back to his original passion of drawing and painting. Stuck at home, Victorio began drawing every day on hid iPad pro and posting his art on social media. His purpose was simply to contribute something other than fear, depression, and divisiveness to the social media landscape. Encouraged by the response from others, and more importantly from himself, Victorio began to get serious again about making fine art and putting it out in the world. His latest show is the best of what came out of the past two years of self-reflection and creating art for the joy of it. 

Their artistic expression has gone through many phases over the years resulting in a highly personal approach and perspective. They are never content with standing still and are always looking for their next engaging project.