ShirleyWilliamsArt

Open Studio Starts Today

Shirley — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:24:59 +0000

Open Studio & Sale 2 Weekends Only

Fri Sept 30 5 pm – 8 pm
Sat Oct 1 10 am – 5 pm

Fri Oct 7 5 pm – 8 pm
Sat Oct 8 10 am – 5 pm

See what a working art studio looks like
Grab some original art bargains while they last
Miniatures starting at $ 10
All art reduced 50% and more

Come Visit & Bring Your Friends
3080 Grand Marais Road East (between Walker & Central)
Windsor

Contact Me
Phone: (519) 980-4852
Email: shirley@shirleywilliamsart.com
Web: ShirleyWilliamsArt.com

Shrinking Art Chicago – Sign of the Times

Shirley — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:22:14 +0000

I just returned from a wonderful weekend in Chicago for the annual Art Chicago fine art fair. It was at the Merchandise Mart downtown and ran from April 29 – May 2.

It was quite a surprise to see how much leaner and more regional it was this year. All the exhibitors were on one floor instead of four. This year only about 90 established galleries and 60 emerging galleries participated. By comparison,in 2008, when I was last there, about 500 international galleries from every major art city in the world participated.

Attendance was sparse too. Most people have other things on their minds these days, I suppose. But there was lots of interesting art to see. The lack of crowds made looking much more enjoyable without all the usual jostling.

For me fine art fairs are a wonderful, time-saving way to get a quick overview of what’s new and noticed in the contemporary art world. It’s a visual feast and I always come back to my studio reinvigorated and eager to work.

Contemporary art fairs are also great for networking, meeting new people and talking about ideas and the state of the art world. The economic downturn has definitely had a major impact on the visual arts in terms of fewer buyers. However, this hasn’t stopped fine artists from continuing to create exquisite and relevant work. Nor has it dampened the enthusiasm of the gallerists who represent them.

Spring Cleaning Never Ends

Shirley — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:15:28 +0000

Way back in January, I decided one of my goals before spring would be to totally Clean, Sort and Organize everything in my studio.

My working methods as an artist naturally cause me to collect lots and lots of materials. Sometimes things I save actually prove useful. While a lot just takes up valuable space and clutters up my thoughts.

So I decided to de-clutter and and only keep tools and material I actually do use. I was feeling pretty good about the results and was just getting back in the groove of painting with everything close at hand.

Then BAM !

Two large shipments of paintings came back to my studio from exhibitions at the same time. First all the art from the Art Gallery of Windsor solo arrived, then an enormous crate came back from Naples, Florida.

Things looked like this for a few days last week until Harmony, my assistant and I were able to sort and put everything away.

Cool Colors ‘Natural Networks’ – AGW Exhibit

Shirley — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:06:23 +0000

Here are the 4 canvases in the ‘Natural Networks’ series in the Cool Color range. Each painting is acrylic on canvas and measures 36″ x 36″.

Warm ‘Natural Networks’ AGW Exhibit

Shirley — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:26:28 +0000

As part of my exhibition at the AGW called ‘Forces of Nature’, is a series of 7 canvases called “Natural Networks”. There is actually an eighth in this series of 36″ x 36″ canvases. But we ran out of wall space. The lonely “orphan” is in the cool colors and deserves the spotlight too. It is included on the next post. Here are the 4 warm paintings.

Cool “Spectrum” Paintings

Shirley — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:45:11 +0000

Here are the 4 Cool paintings in the series.

Shirley Williams 'Violet Spectrum' ID-1014, 72"x36" (c)2010

Warm “Spectrum” Paintings

Shirley — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:29:35 +0000

This series of 8 paintings called “Waterfall Spectrum” are each 72″ high and 36″ wide. There are 4 in the warm range and 4 in the cool range.

They have been hung in the “Forces of Nature” exhibit at the AGW with the warm on one wall and the cool on the opposite wall. This creates a sense of “parting the water” as you walk between the two walls.

New Art Photos Posted Daily

Shirley — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:10:46 +0000

Happy Holidays !!

I am overwhelmed and deeply touched by the positive response to my paintings at last night’s Opening of my AGW exhibit “Forces of Nature” Thank you to each of you who came. What fun to see about 200 people simply vibrating with a positive hum. I was a little busy !!! Please accept my apologies if we didn’t get a chance to chat.

I’ve also received hundreds of good wishes by email. I am amazingly blessed to know so many of you support my work and are moved by it. Thank you !!

Many of you have asked to see images of this new body of work. I will begin posting them all gradually. I’ll also add some photos from the Opening too over the next few weeks- See if you’re in any of them !!

Lots of you also asked, “Are these paintings for sale?”

* Yes, absolutely ! Just like you I have bills to pay, especially art supplies & studio expenses

* The AGW is a public institution and aren’t involved in selling. This new body of work has not been shown in any commercial gallery yet. Until then you can purchase them directly from me.

* At this point everything in the show except two paintings is available. The Yellow Spectrum Waterfall (72″ x 36″) has already been sold (Jackie & Charles Regan Collection). And the center “Forces of Nature” (72″ x 48″) which was featured on the Postcard, is being acquired and donated to the AGW Permanent Collection.

* There are 36 – 12″ x 12″ framed monotypes in the show that are quite affordable, as are the 6 small 12″ x 12″ canvases.

* Naturally the larger canvases are more of an investment. I also have other paintings available from the “Colorscape” and “Horizon” series available.

* Anything acquired by deposit from this current exhibition at the AGW will be unavailable for delivery until March 1, 2011.

* Just call me at (519)-980-4852 or email me and I can give you more images and info.

Windsor Star Reviews my Museum Exhibit

Shirley — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:50:24 +0000

Happy Holidays Everyone ! In case you missed it or live out of the area, here is the Windsor Star review of my exhibition currently at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

Ted Shaw really captured my evolution and motivations as a painter – and the meaning of this new body of work.

For those of you able to come to the Opening tomorrow (Fri Dec 3 7 – 10 pm ) , scroll to the bottom for more info.

Artist Sees Our Connections

Artist Shirley Williams with her “Forces of Nature” series.

Photograph by: Scott Webster, The Windsor Star

Like people who see colours in numbers, Shirley Williams has painted a world of quantum physics.

“We are all connected,” said the Windsor artist, whose exhibit Forces of Nature opens this Friday at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

But whereas a mathematician demonstrates the interaction of energy and matter with numbers, Williams does it with acrylics. ”There is more of a emphasis on spirituality and the idea of quantum physics that we’re all connected at some level,” Williams said in describing how the dozens of works in her show share a common theme.

Forces of Nature is dominated by three massive works at the centre of the exhibit. The three works as a group are also titled Forces of Nature, Williams explained, and function as a triptych. ”The paintings are like an allegory of our world today. We’re living in an imperfect world. We’re all afraid and on edge, and it’s not all prettiness and nature. ”But I have this feeling that we are going to experience massive change in our thinking in the next few years. It’s not an end-of-the-world thing, but something positive, a new approach to how we live our lives.”

It’s a spiritual shift in the paradigm, she suggested. ”I see it happening now where there is less emphasis on commercialism and acquisition and more emphasis on spirituality.”

Forces of Nature is Williams’s first solo exhibition at the AGW.

She moved to Windsor in 1991 after spending the first several years of her professional life in Toronto as a documentary filmmaker. Without any formal art training, Williams decided to devote her life to the visual arts.

“I’ve always wanted to paint since I was a child,” she said. Her father was in the military, so Williams moved around a lot growing up. During a visit to the Louvre in Paris as a girl she had a calling. ”I was looking at the Mona Lisa,” she said. “People say the eyes follow you, which is true. But for me, the work also spoke to me and I decided I would become an artist one day.”

The exhibit was a commission by James Patten, former art curator at the gallery. ”Two years ago, he asked me to create a series that would be site-specific,” said Williams, meaning it would be designed to fit into the third floor’s south gallery.

“It was a huge challenge. I was biting my nails for a year worrying about what to paint. It’s a whole different approach for me.” It also required her to change her way of painting. The large works in the Forces of Nature triptych were done with the canvas on the floor, in the style of Jackson Pollock.

“I’ve always painted on a wall, and worked as if I were walking through the canvas. But as soon as I put it on the floor and looked down at it, I felt all this energy coming up at me as if from the earth. It opened up the works and made them more expansive.”

Shirley Williams’ Forces of Nature opens with a reception at 7 p.m. Friday. The exhibit continues through March 1.

tshaw@windsorstar.com

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Art Gallery of Windsor 401 Riverside Drive West, Windsor, Ontario

OPENING RECEPTION Friday, December 3, 2010 7 – 10 pm

Around 8:00 pm – Introductions and comments - I’ve been asked to speak briefly about my work at some point.

Main Floor – Live Entertainment, Cash Bar, Art Rental Exhibit, Gift Shop Open,

Feel free to wander throughout all the exhibits. No drinks allowed though.

2nd Floor – Children’s Gallery will be open for fun as well as all other gallery spaces

3rd Floor – My exhibit is on 3rd Floor – South Gallery

Members Free Admission – Non-Members $ 7.

Looking forward to seeing you !!

Shirley

Bad Luck Turns to Good Luck

Shirley — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:07:47 +0000

Yesterday I went downtown to pick up the Posters and Postcards for my upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor. The posters look great! :)

Art Gallery of Windsor Poster

But unfortunately, the postcards weren’t right. The colors were all washed out which made the darks even darker. The manager had been training an assistant that didn’t last long. He offered these postcards at half price and he’d print them again by Sunday, at full price, of course. I agreed even while thinking “what am I going to do with 1000 extra postcards that aren’t quite good enough?”.

The Box Office for the Windsor International Film Festival was right next door. To support the arts, I decided to pop in and buy tickets to the Opening Film & Gala that night. By chance I met and talked with one of the organizers for about 10 minutes. We had a great chat about film and all the participating countries showing their movies. He saw I had some Posters and Postcards and the subject turned to my show.

Before I knew it, he offered to display the postcards at both the box office and the theater. They hung the Poster in a glass case in the lobby of the theater. But the most ironic part was the only other poster in the glass case was for the movie “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” with Zach Galifianakis.

And it was an funny story !! Who would think that bad luck could so quickly turn into good luck? Without those extra 1000 Postcards I would have missed the chance to publicize my show to 1600 subscribers because I wouldn’t have had enough to leave any. All the re-printed ones are already allocated.

When these little miracles happen to me or others, it always reinforces my belief in the helpful hand of a Higher Power.