About Me
I am artist discovering, creating and envisioning a brighter future through luminous color. Art that humbles us with splendor, reminds us of the source of it all and our place in this vast world.
Why I Paint
Driving down the newly opened faster toll route to the beach, I sang, sunroof open, at the top of my lungs to Los Lonely Boys and asked myself "how much farther is heaven?" With my newly purchased easel and paint bag in the back of my jeep, I didn't have a dime to my name — yet I was elated. I was escaping. You see, we were slowly drowning in debt. The great recession was already being felt in southern California, and it was no surprise to us. I had a front row seat to the fiasco, having spent the last 8 years in the real estate industry. It all actually started to turn in 2006 in California. I had seen the writing on the wall. My career and the career of many I know would change irreparably due to the financial crisis. Yet, on this drive, I had one thing on my mind: painting outside. Painting had always been my savoir and my refuge; for when painting outside, nothing else matters. It's just you. Not the version of you with all of the thoughts and fears, but the you that lives in the moment and as a result, every moment painting outside is pure joy.
My Painting Philosophy
I always felt like there are layers to life, and that life is nuanced, complicated and surprising. Painting should be a reflection of life. This is the world view that informs my painting process. I am fluent in mixed media, and believe that variety in paint, as in life, is a wonderfully rich experience. Ideally layering thick, thin, opaque, dry, fluid, transparent and everything in between should all work together to make a stronger whole. Hundreds of strokes viewed as one from a distance. However, up close, they are as individual as we are, and each stroke has its place, and is beautiful.
My Materials
I have spent over 20 years developing my unique painting process. I primarily use mediums and materials from esteemed boutique color makers. While my first love is oil paint, I am also fluent in multi-media. I use the materials that speak to me, and best express the subject matter and emotion I hope to convey. Blending past knowledge with present day innovation, and classical methodology integrated into a modern day sensibility, in both objective and non-objective forms. I primarily paint subjects that resonate with me, connect me to my past, what is, and what could be.
Shirley Bales, artist
Hi there! I'm Shirley. While I was practically born with a paintbrush in hand, I formally studied fine art under an accomplished forensic portrait artist and other notable illustrators in the 1990's. My favorite thing to do is paint outside. I paint in mixed media and oil and love color! My work resides in thousands of private collections nationwide, and I am so grateful.
In an Instant, Everything Changed
It was a sunny day when we made our way to the annual Plein Air Artists Colorado Paint Out in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As we pulled up to our campsite after a long drive, tents and gear in tow, we arrived at our campsite to learn our fire pit was surrounded by nearly a foot of water. It was a confusing scenario, as the weather had been perfect on the drive in? In hindsight, it was an ominous nod to events to come. We decided to move our campsite to higher ground. An act that would eventually make us—the last tent standing. The next day, after an exhausting (yet glorious) day battling bugs and sun while painting outside—we settled into camp to prepare dinner in our brand new REI screen house. It was then that I noticed small clouds forming in the distance. I had a passing thought "maybe a storm is brewing?" Then without notice, the wind picked up to 60 miles per hour. We held on to the screen house for dear life as it nearly flew away with us along with it! Then the stinging rain started . . . We were completely exposed to the elements and at nature's mercy. This battle persisted for over half an hour, and at the end of it, we were the last tent standing. Wet and exhausted, that was the day we decided to buy an RV . . .
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