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Shirley Felts

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EDUCATION:

BA of Fine Art, University of Texas

Graphic Design, San Francisco College of Fine Art

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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

The Empire Collection, New York

Rockport Center for Fine Arts, Rockport, Texas

The Old Fire Engine Houise, Ely, England

St John Smith Square, London

Anna Mei Chadwick Gallery, London

Woodlands Art Gallery, London

Washington Arts Centre, Cumbria

LYC Museum, Cumbria

Alex Gerrard Fine Art, East Sussex, England

Nelson Rockefeller Gallery, New York

Morrell Gallery, Dallas, Texas

El Sol Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas

National Gallery, Georgetown, Guyana

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SELECTED GROUP SHOWS:

The Royal Watercolour Society, Bankside, London

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London

The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, London

Blackheath Concert Halls, London

Singer Friedlander, RCA, London

Open Studios, Rocque Lane, London

LYC Museum, Cumbria

Treg Aquarelle International, France

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PUBLICATIONS:

Limited prints, posters and cards published and distributed worldwide

 

Over 100 books illustrated on natural history, fantasy, and fiction for adults and children

 

Conservation Book Award for THE BLUE WHALE

 

THE GIANT PANDA selected for illustrated books - Bienalle in Budapest

 

O BRASIL do IPE, and THE IWOKRAMA RAIN FOREST, both books of paintings published following artist in residence in Brazil and Guyana

 

Commonwealth Secretariat publication, article on Iwokrama rain forest paintings

 

Artists and Illustrators, article on rain forest paintings

Shirley Felts' work includes paintings of landscape and water, still life and rain forest.  She enjoys painting in the field and filling sketchbooks documenting journeys, which form much of the reference material for work in the studio. 
 
Shirley has had numerous exhibitions in England and The United States. Her work has been reproduced as Fine Art prints, posters and cards which have been distributed worldwide.

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Born in Welch, West Virginia, Shirley grew up in the countryside near Corpus Christi, Texas.  She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas, Austin in 1960,  after which she studied graphic design at the California School of Fine Art, San Francisco.  Shirley, her husband and family have lived in London since 1970.

Shirley paints in watercolour the landscapes of East Anglia, Cornwall, the Gulf and Hill Country of Texas and South American rain forests. She paints richly layered, atmospheric still life subjects. A long held interest in South American rain forests has influenced Shirley's work in recent years. Concentrating on the density of colour and forms in the Amazon forests of Guyana and Brazil, she often includes
bright glimpses of colour when the forest breaks and light comes through to reveal flowering lianas, heliconias and brightly coloured birds. She paints the light and reflections of forest rivers and lakes.

Her work is held in a number of public and private collections, including:
     • The Offices of the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo
     • The Offices of Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development, Georgetown, Guyana
     • The Offices of Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
     • Holloman-Price Foundation, San Antonio, Texas
     • Bethlehem Steel
     • Walt Disney Productions

Shirley has illustrated many books for both adults and children.  Her work has been published by The Art Group, Ltd, in the form of posters, limited Giclee prints and cards which have been distributed worldwide.

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COLLECTIONS:

Clare College, Cambridge

King’s School, Ely

Finbo Paper Company

Bethlehem Steel

London Artist’s Association

Esso Petroleum

Walt Disney Productions

The Office of the President of Guyana (the late Cheddi Jagan)

Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas, Brasil

The Holloman-Price Foundation, Texas

Private collections in USA, England, Japan, Australia, Guyana

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