Artist Profile for Shirley Maier

Shirley is a native Californian. As a child, she spent many hours along side her father, an artist. Many visits to art galleries, museums and the time spent working with him in his studio nourished her love for the arts.

After a career in the banking industry and a few side trips, Shirley relented to her heart’s desire, painting. Oil painting is the medium of choice. For Shirley the point of art is not to copy but to amplify, to create an emotional response in the viewer. Shirley likes to work using a limited palette with emphasis on the masses, values and light falling upon form. She paints landscapes and still life studies in her studio and on location.

Shirley loves the casual spirit and natural beauty of the area for creating “en plein-air” paintings. Travel is a serious passion and a source of constant inspiration. Shirley is a member of several professional art groups including, Oil Painters of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters, The California Art Club, The Pacific Beach Art Guild, The San Diego Art Institute, and The La Jolla Art Assoication. Shirley exhibits regularly at the Off Track Gallery, The Village Gallery, Gallery 21, The San Diego Art Institute and ARTWALK San Diego. Her paintings are in private collections throughout the United States and Canada. She is a recipent of numerous art awards and is a contributing member of several local non profit organizations

Education

• Athenaeum School of the Arts, La Jolla CA
• San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
• University of Virginia, McIntire School of Business
• California State University , Northridge

Recent Shows and Exhibitions

• Off Track Gallery, Encinitas, CA - Ongoing Exhibition
• Art Institute of California, San Diego, "The Artist's Hand" 11/05-12/05
• Athenaeum Art Rotunda, La Jolla, "The Secret Gardens Of Old La Jolla",Exhibition: Oct 28 - Nov 12, 2005
• Gallery 21, San Diego, "Relationships", Invitational, Aug 1 - Aug 15, 2005
• La Jolla Historical Society's Secret Garden Tour Featured Artist, May 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001
• ARTWALK San Diego,April 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002
• Pangaea Outpost, Pacific Beach, Featured Artist, Dec 2004 - April 2005
• Rancho Santa Fe Art Festival, Sept 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002
• Gallery 21, San Diego, "Escapes" Invitational, July - August 2004

Awards

• Featured Poster Artist - La Jolla Historical Society's Secret Garden Tour - 2005
• San Diego County Juried Exhibition of Art, Del Mar Fair Second Place - Oil, Abstract June 15 - July 2000
People’s Choice Award - Oil, Representational, July, 1999 Honorable Mentions 2003,2002,2000,
• Boehm Gallery Juried Exhibition Featured Artist July 2003
• "Seven Perceptives" La Jolla Village Gallery, La Jolla July 2003