S.L (Shawn) Dickey was born in Belton, Missouri in 1965 to Charles Q. Dickey, a Sergeant in the US Air Force and Barbara A. Williams, a Civil Servant. After a short stay in Quitman, Georgia, his family moved to Columbus, Mississippi.

There he lived a somewhat quiet childhood with his older sister and brother, thoroughly immersed in film, television, and books; the only cultural stimuli found in a small rural town. They became the primer for thought; a window to the outside world; and fuel for his artistic imagination.

S.L. received a B.S. in Biology and a B.F.A. in Printmaking from Mississippi University for Women in 1990 and an M.F.A. in Printmaking from Texas Tech University in 1993. He currently lives in Columbus, MS where he is an Instructor in art at Mississippi University for Women. When he is not in his studio, S.L. can be found working on his collection Superman memorabilia or watching a really, really bad movie.