about the artist

For over twenty years, Shelley has refined and broadened her skills as an accomplished portrait artist. She began her professional career drawing graphite portraits of children and adults. Her stunning likenesses of her subjects in the medium quickly gained her a growing base of loyal clients. After working in graphite for seven years, Shelley realized her need to challenge herself. Watercolor painting seemed a logical progression and within a year, her watercolor paintings were hanging in the Monticello Gallery in Highland Park. She has enjoyed great success in this medium, including winning first prize as artist of t

he month for the Southwest Watercolor Society in 1999. After a few years of watercolor, Shelley added oil to her list of accomplished mediums. She has painted watercolor and oil portraits for prominent families residing in Dallas, Fort Worth, Terrell, Houston, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Shelley frequently donates painting for charitable causes, benefiting such institutions as Ursuline Academy, St. Rita School, Greenville Christian School, Terrell Christian Academy, Jesuit, and the Cattlebaron’s Ball, to name a few.

Shelley’s paintings depict not only a likeness, but portray the personality of her subjects. She strives to catch the glow and vitality, as well as the serene introspective, of each subject. This artist is a member of the Portrait Society of America and has attended their national conventions. Her work has been shown in their magazine as well as one of her oil portraits which was published in American Society of Portrait Artist's national magazine. In May of 2001, Terrell Association for Education and the Arts hosted a two woman reception and show at the American National Bank for Shelley. She has attended workshops and classes taught by such nationally known artists as: Steve Childs, Bob Graham, Perrin Sparks and Dave Kramer.

Feeling a need to improve her knowledge of anatomy, she took a class at the Creative Art Center in Dallas in 2003 in sculpting with terra cotta clay. Learning from the nationally known sculptor, Bobbe Gentry, she found that three dimensional art was her forte. Within only a couple months of beginning this medium, Shelley already had a list of commissions. Among those is a life-size bronze bust of Christ for St. John’s Catholic Church in Terrell which won a BENE Award from the national Ministry and Liturgy Magazine. Her sculpture, “Jesus, The Living Water” was also chosen for the cover of their March edition. She has had several articles written about her in the Terrell Tribune as well as a feature story in the Texas Catholic Newspaper. Shelley truly has been given a gift for this medium and finds an amazing way of bringing a lump of clay to life. Shelley's recent commissions include a life size sculpture of Mr. Buis installed at Preston Park Mall in Plano, a life size St. Ignatius and a three foot diameter medallion featuring the "Lady Mary and Child" at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House, Lake Dallas, a set of life size grandchildren portrayed at 4 years of age for a family in Addison, Texas, an Adoration Chapel Altar and a three foot tall Blessed Mother with Child for St. Joseph's in Marshall, Texas, as well as a bust of Riter Hulsey for the Friends of the Hulsey Library in Terrell, Texas. She is headed to Washington DC in Nov. 2008 to unveil another edition of St. Ignatius at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Georgetown, Washington DC. This artist has had numerous exhibitions of her work and recently sat on the planning committee for the Texas Sculpture Association's 25th Anniversary Symposium held at the Nasher Sculpture Museum in Dallas.

Shelley has sat on the Board of Directors of the Terrell Alliance for Education and the Artsfor several years, and is a Founding Member of the NorthEast Texas Fine Arts Alliance. She was also elected to the Board of Directors for the Texas Sculpture Association. Prior to portraiture, Shelley was a draftsman and a Dallas Police Officer. Now, she resides in Poetry, Texas, on the Flying Paint Ranch where she paints and sculpts her own children, cows, horses, chickens and dogs. In addition, she has taught many painting and sculpting classes to junior high and high school students at Terrell Christian Academy, watercolor at Michael's in Rockwall, Texas, and assorted group lessons around Terrell, Texas.