Tennessee

Memphis College of Art 

As a mother of four, many of Shelley’s series feature children or a memory of a place or a moment. The paintings are thoughts and emotions built in layers. As it is in life, many never see the layers of personal experience and past acts that culminate to form who a person is. Frequently, the surface is a mask hiding those experiences, but the past continues to resonate and shape the present. Each layer of her paintings is its own. The final work is a combination of experiences and emotions whether they be abstract or defined; ethereal or palpable.

Shelley’s process involves mark making, laying down paint, and sometimes adding collage to create contemporary portraiture, abstract, and landscape scenes. The process involves continually building up layers using charcoal, acrylic, oil and scrapings until the final painting emerges.