“As a landscape painter my process begins outdoors. Working from a strong sense of place, I respond intuitively to the atmosphere and emotional resonance of a location which goes beyond literal representation. My paintings sit between abstraction and observation, allowing forms to emerge and dissolve, inviting viewers to engage with them through their own memories and interpretation while retaining the essence of a specific location.

Working initially in sketchbooks, which serve as precious visual diaries, I record intuitive marks as direct responses to the contours, shifting light, and intangible spaces of the land. These studies inform my larger paintings, where, through a process of layering, texturising, adding and removing, traces of what lies beneath the surface are revealed - much like the landscape itself.

Colour, Texture and Marks

Colour carries the emotional register of a landscape before form has a chance to settle, and it is through colour that I find my way into each new painting. Each mark expresses my response to the energy and mood of a location and, working intuitively, the process leads me towards an eventual conclusion.

There is something cathartic in this process — a way of staying connected, through the act of painting, to the land and to the rhythms of the year”.

Shirley Kirkcaldy [SWAc] is a contemporary painter based on the Western edge of Dartmoor, whose work is deeply rooted in landscape - the wild moorlands, enigmatic coastlines and shifting light of the British Southwest.

At the heart of her practice is the tension between landscape as both escape and anchor. Her paintings reach beyond the visual, seeking what is left behind once the eye has moved on: a mood, a memory, a sense of belonging. It is through this lens that she searches for a personal, interpretive response to a specific time and place, each painting capturing energy, form and mood: the weight of open sky, the pull of light, the quiet shift of a season.

These elements take precedence over detail, and it is in this space — between observation and feeling — that her work finds its voice.

Shirley is an elected academician with the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Art and has exhibited widely. Her paintings can be found in homes internationally and her work is represented by a handful of select UK galleries.

CV and exhibition history can be found here.

Instagram @shirleykirkcaldyartist

My Studio.

Located at the historic Buckland Abbey, near Yelverton on Dartmoor, my studio is where I design, create, and showcase my work. Visitors can browse and purchase original artworks, fine art prints, greeting cards, and a range of beautifully designed homeware.

As I may be working away from the studio or teaching, please check before making a special trip or call 07393 317751 to arrange an appointment. Unlimited free parking is available in the main car park, which is a short stroll down to the Ox Yard and my studio.