Artist Series 2025 | Shannon Foley Henn

There are some people in this world who inexplicably sparkle, like they toddled through a cloud of magic dust in some fairy forest along the way, and everything they touch sparkles, too.

Artist Shannon Foley Henn, who designed our latest topsheet graphics, is one such person. 

If she could tell her background story in art, it would need the Louvre’s galleries to display it. She worked as a brand director, organized African safaris, ran a boutique hotel, started the rock-and-roll cancer foundation Love Hope Strength that hosted shows at places like Everest Base Camp, and started her own art gallery. Now, she works as a full-time artist in the ski town of Winter Park, Colorado. As disjointed as her path may seem, her success as an artist is not only a result of her talent—though she has that in spades—but of the grit, resourcefulness, and marketing savvy she learned from doing all of the above.

Shannon Foley Henn at home in her gallery.

“I’ve always lived a life of why not,” she said. “When opportunities arose, instead of questioning why should I do that, I’d always ask myself, why not? It allowed me to open up to a life of possibilities. You never know what’s going to come your way.” 

Her new topsheets are inspired from her pop art “Après” series of paintings, which feature rock-and-roll icons wearing ski goggles. They are simultaneously familiar yet refreshing, serious yet fun, and they connect with people on an intensely personal level, as these musicians shaped many of our lives. It’s art that everyone can understand and enjoy—art that makes us smile.

We caught up with Foley Henn from her home in Winter Park to talk about, well, everything—from a weasel she sat on in her yard to the stripes that are ubiquitous in her work. Here’s what she had to say.

Wagner: Following all you’ve done professionally makes us dizzy. How did you find your way to becoming a full-time artist?
Foley Henn: Well, I was coming off the edge of a nervous breakdown. I was working with Love Hope Strength, we were going through fertility and adoption options, we moved back from Africa, and the country we were adopting from closed their doors. I was, like, ‘I’m going to lose my mind.’ My husband said, ‘You have to paint, and I’ll find a way to pay the bills.’ I hadn’t painted in 20 years.

"Jerry" by Shannon Foley Henn

Wagner: So you were an artist early on? Why did you quit painting back then? 
Foley Henn: When I was in college, I wanted to be an art major. My parents always fostered the creativity in us, making sure we had access to classes. My dad was an incredibly talented self-taught painter when he was young, and my mom was an interior designer. But when I got to college, my dad said to me, ‘Every artist has to know how to run a business. You’re going to be a business major.’ So when I went into my career, I just put art to the wayside.

Wagner: Was it hard to pick up a brush again? How did you know what to paint?
Foley Henn: When my husband told me I needed to paint again, I had this vision of stripes. I got commissioned to do a painting with circles, and I thought I was going to lose my mind, but I didn’t understand why. Then my parents sent my art books out to me from when I was a little girl, and when I was 5 years old, I had this series of paintings that were all stripes. I was blown away. I went back and looked at family photos, and my parents put us in matching outfits, and they were always stripes. I also felt like the stripes were a control thing in a time where I had lost all control.

"Bowie" by Shannon Foley Henn

Wagner: How did you come up with the idea for your ‘Après’ series, which you turned into Wagner topsheets?
Foley Henn: I was trying to figure out what to paint for a living, and I drew from having worked with musicians and now living in a ski town. I thought, if you were standing in a ski line with David Bowie standing next to you, would you even know it was David Bowie? That’s where the concept came from, and of course they had the stripes in the background. I’ve done close to 100 different musicians at this point.

Wagner: What does your dad have to say about your career now that you’ve made it as a full-time artist?
Foley Henn: We opened up an art gallery in Winter Park 8 years ago, and my parents came out to surprise us. My dad was able to say, ‘I told you so,’ and then he passed away from a heart attack that weekend. It was almost like he knew, and he flew out here to see me and three of my siblings who live here, said I told you so, and it was this epic, full-circle moment.

"Dylan" by Shannon Foley Henn

Wagner: That’s incredible.
Foley Henn: Yes. But what’s also incredible is that on the anniversary of my dad’s death last year, I went outside to sit and say hello to him. I went to a swing in my yard, sat down, and realized I sat on a baby weasel. I jumped up, broke my leg, and the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance going to the same ER we took my dad to. And when I got there, the cover of the newspaper in the waiting room was a rainbow. That was our thing, colorful stripes and rainbows. I was, like, ‘Alright, Dad, I know all these things that happen in life are signs that you’re on the right path. Even when there are setbacks.’ Maybe he wanted me to slow down.

Wagner: Do you think your dad was ultimately right?
Foley Henn: Yes. I wouldn’t be successful as an artist had I not gone through all the things I’ve done in my career. From brand development, running the books, sales, marketing all the things you have to do to be a successful business person. I would have been an artist who didn’t know what to do with my stuff.

"Jimi" by Shannon Foley Henn

Wagner: What does it feel like to have your art on Wagner Custom skis?
Foley Henn: If I ever get on a ski lift and see these, I will lose my mind. I will chase that person down the mountain and buy them drinks. It would just be so insane. Never in a million years did I think my art would be on a pair of skis. 

Follow Foley Henn on Instagram, check out her website, or go visit her gallery, Uptripping, in Winter Park.

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