Shirley Bales Studio

Artist Statement

 I believe that our strength lies in our interconnectedness, and beauty shows us the way. Through art, we express what matters, and the most profound works draw us closer, enriching lives, and aligning us with that which is good, and greater than ourselves.

Recently, I experienced a series of health conditions that caused me to pause for a few years, change the way I work, and compelled me to move forward to a new way of working and thinking. Immobile, I had lost connection and turned inward. I found art to be a familiar place of immersion and discovery that I had not experienced since childhood. I learned to play again and to get lost within myself.

We each have an essence, a way of being, discovering, and perceiving this world. I take delight in imagining and distilling this essence. Finding beauty in all its forms, translating these impressions as I imagine them to be, and offering them up to be part of another’s unique expression. Some are so powerful and complex that they call for a larger platform, while others are complete just as they are.

In my process, expanding on tradition, I create with new materials in a very unique process developed over years of refinement and experimentation, while leaving space for play and discovery. In my nonobjective work, I begin with the first layers by painting mixed media into a fluid emulsion ground, creating organic brushwork playfully, forming inherently beautiful forms that flow, merge, and layer with vibrant spontaneity. Once dry, I delicately reveal the underlayer from the support, unveiling a natural duality. The top surface is bold, with unforgiving strokes that exude a sense of chaos, yet are harmonious by the nature of their creation. While beneath lies a world of beautiful, subtle, sensitive detail that can be had no other way.