Shawn Zents was born in Lima, Ohio in May of 1965. He was raised in Ventura, California excelling in sports with aspirations of playing professionally. During college he decided to take a drawing class as a break from academic studies and he has been with it ever since.
Shawn then attended the California Art Institute headed by Fred Fixler, a retired illustrator. He studied under Fred Fixler whose own teacher, Frank Riley, was an apprentice to Dean Cornwell.
He studied with Fixler for three years as well as Fred's top students, Glen Orbik (famed Comic Poster artist) and others. Professionally, he worked in the movie industry designing One-sheet designs and movie trailers such as "Random Hearts", "Ransom", "U-571", and so on. Shawn then began working in the storyboard advertising field with top advertising agencies across the United States. Such accounts included Pfizer, Chevrolet, Levis, Old Navy, Saturn and so on.

After the death of his father, Donald Zents, Shawn decided to step onto a new path. Fine Art has allowed him the opportunity to explore design, compositions, color harmonies, and the beauty of light on form from a pure esthetic point of view. To recreate, represent, and create beauty on canvas is Shawn's ideal. "To have viewers look through my eye's at the canvas and to respond to the beauty is my deepest hope and perhaps feel the eternal truths of life."
The work of Shawn Zents follows in the long line of tradition that has grown out of the New York Students Art League. Additionally, since his first encounters with the works of such greats as John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, and William Merritt Chase, Shawn has realized that the most important quality of naturalistic painting is light.
This realization combined with a high level of academic training has lead to the culmination of work before you. It is with great pleasure that Shawn presents to you his interpretations of "Sculpted Light".