About.
Shirley Kirkcaldy [SWAc] is a contemporary landscape painter based on Dartmoor in Devon. Her work is informed by the wild moorlands and dramatic coastlines of Devon and Cornwall, where a strong sense of place underpins her practice.
Working primarily in oils and mixed media, she creates expressive, emotionally resonant paintings that move beyond direct representation. Her approach is intuitive and process-led, using distinctive mark making, layered colour and rich texture to explore light, space and atmosphere. Each painting is an interpretive response to the landscape, capturing its energy and character rather than a literal record.
Shirley exhibits nationally and her work is held in private collections in the UK, Europe, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. She is an elected Academician with the South West Academy of Fine & Applied Arts (SWAc). Alongside her studio practice, she teaches a range of workshops and works full time from her Dartmoor studio.
Further details, including a full biography and exhibition history, are available here..
Statement.
Evocative landscapes that respond to the environment, recalling the rituals and rhythms of a time and place.
Memories are woven into the landscape and mine are rooted in a childhood spent by the sea in Devon and the life I now live on Dartmoor, with many places along the way. These environments have shaped my visual language and provide an ever-changing source of inspiration, where light, weather and season combine to create moments of quiet drama and contemplation.
I work from a strong sense of place, responding intuitively to the atmosphere and emotional resonance of the land rather than literal representation. My paintings sit between abstraction and observation, allowing forms to emerge and dissolve, inviting viewers to engage with the work through their own memories and interpretations while retaining the essence of a specific location.
Sketchbooks serve as precious personal diaries; recording intuitive marks and colours as direct responses to the contours, shifting light, and intangible spaces within the landscape. These studies inform my studio work, where, through a process of layering, adding texture, scratching and scraping back into the surface, I build depth and complexity.
This physical engagement somehow mirrors the landscape itself, revealing traces of what lies beneath and capturing its enduring spirit.
Studio
Explore a curated collection of original paintings, prints, greeting cards, and homeware in my Buckland Abbey studio, a historic National Trust site nestled in the moorland near Yelverton on Dartmoor.
My usual OPEN DAYS are Thursday to Sunday, 11am–3pm. However, as I may occasionally be working away from the studio or teaching, it’s always best to check before making a special trip. If these times don’t suit, please get in touch or call 07393 317751 to arrange an appointment.
