A native of Virginia Beach, Shawn Myers studied broadcasting at Tidewater Community College before opening a printing company in 1987. For several years, he was art director at a marketing firm that created promotional products — everything coffee mugs to key chains and political campaign materials. He moved to Alexandria in August 2001 and took a job doing sales for a marketing firm in Maryland, later becoming officer manager at credit-card processing business in Del Ray. In October 2007 he opened the Blueberry Gallery on Mount Vernon Avenue.
<b>Describe the gallery</b>
It’s completely what a gallery should be but it’s not everything a gallery could be. It’s certainly not influenced by other galleries. I tried to express as much of myself as I could. I tried not to make it typical because I’m not typical. It has my favorite color on the wall — faded and comfortable blue-jean denim. And it’s constantly evolving, like myself.
<b>Do you like being off the beaten path on Mount Vernon Avenue?</b>
Absolutely. When people come through that door, they have made an effort to come see art. So they are taking it seriously. It’s better to talk to people who have a passion rather than people who happened to be walking to some other shop.
<b>What kinds of exhibits have you done at the Blueberry?</b>
The first artist was an up-and-coming artists who did a lot of digital art by the name of Brian Carroll. A lot of people say it looked like squiggly lines. He used a pressure-sensitive pen and went to town on this digital canvas. People said it looked like Miro and Picasso and Pollock. But a high-tech version of that. He framed all of his work, so the whole thing was great. He was a guinea pig, I guess. He knew that but he wanted to display his art.
<b>What’s next for the Blueberry?</b>
Right now, I’m fine tuning the Web site to promote the reproduction side of the business. No matter how bad times are, people will still want to buy things they really want. And reproductions have become accepted to the point where I think it’s important to offer them. If you fall in love with a $7,000 piece of art and you are just crazy about it and you want to put it in your home you can get a reproduction of that image on canvas. Then it’s stretched and framed. Sometimes people will touch it and still not think it’s a reproduction.
<b>Are there drawbacks to having a gallery in an area that’s not necessary known for art galleries?</b>
No. Not at all. I think it’s an asset. I was in New York about five or six years ago and my cousin took me to this place in Greenwich Village that was off the beaten path. Unless someone told you about it, you would have never known it was there. It had wonderful art on the wall, and people were sitting and talking by candlelight. It was the most awesome experience. That stuck in my head for a long time, and I have always wanted to recreate that experience.
<b>Have you done that at the Calvert?</b>
Yes I think I have, to the best of my ability. It’s unexpected to walk by and see this nice space at the Calvert. I have some of the best artists on my wall. I started the bar high, and I’m going to keep it very high. I painted the walls a denim color so the art pops. The ceiling is black and the floor is black, so you feel like you are floating, and you don’t focus on anything else but the art. But when you do notice the floor, you’ll say, "hey that’s a nice carpet."