About the Artist.
Bio.
Shirley Kirkcaldy is a contemporary landscape painter, living and working on Dartmoor in southwest England. Drawing inspiration from the interplay between light and landscape, she is best known for her distinctive semi-abstract paintings of the Cornish coastlines and wild moorlands of Devon.
Shirley’s work has been exhibited widely in public, group and solo exhibitions and is held in private collections in UK, Europe, USA, New Zealand and Singapore.
An elected Academician with the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts (SWAc), she has also featured across a range of media including Devon Life, Dartmoor Magazine, The Artist, Light in the West publication, BBC Radio and in 2023 ITV’s ‘Unwind with ITV’ series, a programme featuring real-time artists at work. Her studio is based at Buckland Abbey on Dartmoor in Devon.
Statement.
‘My work is both expressive and of the moment, with a deep sense of place at its heart. It is for collectors who appreciate the beauty and remoteness of the South West, in all weathers and changing seasons.
Synonymous with light, atmosphere and energy, paintings are rich in personal responses; always searching for something more than what the eye perceives and overriding the importance of direct representation. This allows me a freedom to interpret and explore new ways of expressing my ideas through the physicality of paint and other media, whilst also capturing an authenticity borne of a specific location.
Often determining their own direction and their own conclusion, what lies deep within the layers of a painting becomes as important as what can be seen on the surface. Much like the landscape itself’.
‘Growing up in Devon, with Cornwall on my doorstep, instilled in me a love and fascination for their wild moorlands and enigmatic coastlines. As a landscape artist these locations are not merely geography; they are inextricably bound up in mood and memory, which is why they have the power to move us. It is in these spaces that I find endless inspiration and the challenge of creating visual connections to places that are both uplifting and have stories to tell’.
Studio.
I work from my studio at Buckland Abbey on Dartmoor, a historic site nestled in the moorland near Yelverton, Devon. It is here that paintings are developed from sketches made on location.
It is a personally curated space where visitors are welcome during opening hours to see me working and to view and purchase my artwork, which includes original paintings, ready mounted/framed prints and a range of contemporary homeware.
The studio is normally open Thursday, Saturday & Sunday 11-3, Friday 2-5 and Monday to Wednesday by appointment. Please get in touch before making a special trip.
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