Background

Shirley moved to Glasgow in 1998 to pursue a career as an Insolvency Administrator.
When daughter #2 started school, she decided the time was right to follow a longed for creative endeavour and enrolled as a mature student at Anniesland College, thereafter embarking on a 2 year study of contemporary art practise which culminated in an HNC in 2014.
Shirley was then fortunate to be successful in applying to study at Glasgow School of Art. She graduated in 2018 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Sculpture & Environmental Art.
​Since then Shirley has continued to create and runs a small open studio and gift shop in Finnieston’s Hidden Lane.
She lives in Partick with her partner, Gordon, daughters Rhudie & Rebecca and her large cat, Carter-Douglass - you may follow his antics on Instagram @carterdouglassmainecoon.

Ethos

I am particularly interested in the processes of change engendered on the landscape and this is explored in a variety of different mediums such as abstract painting, sculpture, installation, film and photography. I love to be ‘outside’, amongst the trees or by the water. I relish the opportunity to bring the outside in, so you will often see examples of this in my work.
Many paintings resemble aerial photographs or stormy seas; others are simply inspired by the colours and forms in nature. Some see planetary elements or lunar landscapes in them, such is the beauty of abstraction. The process is both organic and spontaneous.
I am also constantly ‘collecting’ - take a look at my photographs for a glimpse....