Interview with Shirley Werner
Could you share the story of how you first became involved in art? Could you describe your initial encounter with the art world and the pivotal moments or influences that steered you towards becoming an artist? How have these foundational experiences influenced the development of your unique artistic style and approach over time?
I have always been involved in some kind of art from sketching one of my old teachers when I was in elementary school . Art was my favorite subject in school .
I would design and make some of my clothes, I designed and made Jewelry out of plastic that looked like metal, then covered them with leather and different fabrics.
I did interior design and display suits.
One day, I took a photo of some beautiful red tulips and thought to myself, “ That Looks like a painting” Then I started taking photos of Trees and Rocks and rusty metal that looked like abstract art. I would spend many hours, sometimes a month, digitally enhancing colors or moving a color in the photo from one place to another. I did not know anything about Photoshop.
I would just use the clone tool to copy a color or pattern in the photo and move it where I wanted it in the photo. I would zoom in and out of areas in the photo to change things the way that I imagined them to look like.
That is how I would digitally paint my art. Instead of painting with oils or acrylic, I could have my art very large and could have it put on Metal, Canvas and Acrylic , and other mediums.
I did one piece that was 40 x 80 on metal.
I used different companies to put my art on different formats.
From castles in Ireland to old shipyards in Canada, your inspiration comes from diverse locales. Can you share a memorable experience from one of your journeys that significantly influenced your artistic direction or led to the creation of a particular piece?
When I lived down by a river, I was inspired by my many walks along there, from different trees, rocks, and an old shipyard with old metal pieces.
One day while I was walking down there , I saw an image on a concrete wall that looked like a bird, and I spent many days and ours digitally painting it until I was satisfied with it.
I also found a rock wall in another area that was very intriguing and spent months digitally painting it.
On my trip to Ireland, I was intrigued with some of the old Castles.
I am always looking it be inspired, by new visions that I see in my journeys.
I had four of my art pieces featured in art gallery .
