Shirley
Straface

Shirley Straface is an Australian resin artist based in Perth, Western Australia. Raised in the Great Southern, she moved to Perth for boarding school, and then completed a Bachelor of Business Degree. Following a move to Sydney, with its fast-paced and contemporary lifestyle, she settled with her husband in Boston, USA. This provided the opportunity for global corporate roles, a fashion degree, fashion design, and extensive volunteering and creative endeavours. It was immersion into a vast world of artistic influences. Shirley now resides back in her beautiful hometown of Perth. After attending resin classes, a new journey was launched; an exploration of colour, creativity and experimentation. Understanding the many nuances of resin, and finding peace with the fact that resin has a mind of its own, has led to exciting and original pieces. Shirley hand-pours pigmented resin over meticulously prepared wood, layering colours, often with added texture and different components, to create the desired balance between the imagery and the geometric lines and drips. Paintings have a high-gloss, 3D-like effect, so appear to automatically adapt to light and location, giving the viewer a sense of looking into water. Because of this, paintings are always most impactful viewed in-person. Whether painting familiar iconic items, creating moulded resin or pouring layered colours - each piece is customized. Each pour is measured, mixed, timed, heated and cured to create perfect glossy lines and drips, forever immortalizing the images and colours within. Artwork can be customized in colour and size and new designs can be created, allowing tailoring to a particular space, story or sentiment.