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Shirley Novak, 1948 | Still Life / Flowers painter

Born and raised in California, Shirley feels her inner voice has called to her to paint for as long as she can remember.
Her childhood passions were growing, drawing and painting flowers.
She majored in art and took many workshops and classes over the years, eventually turning her attention to painting full-time under the tutelage of her mentor, Len Chmiel. Shirley paints in oils using a wet-on-wet technique.



Shirley paints "en plein air" whenever possible either in her garden or on location when she travels.
"What I try to do with paint is recreate the joy I experience in my subjects, the flowers I grow and the wildflowers in the mountain meadows", says Shirley.
When not out of doors, she paints in her Colorado studio overlooking the San Juan Mountains or in her summer studio, aptly named "Poppy Cottage".