Shirley Williams

My creative journey has been shaped by a lifelong desire to understand and express the unseen energy that connects us to the natural world. For more than three decades, painting has been both my language and my compass — guiding me through seasons of growth, change, and renewal.

I’m drawn to the quiet intelligence of nature — the way life unfolds organically, without force, yet with undeniable strength. My work begins intuitively, building through layers of acrylic paint and hand-painted collage. Each mark, texture, and color field is a response — a visual translation of breath, movement, and pulse. Over time, these layered surfaces evolve into what I think of as vibrational landscapes — spaces that feel alive, expansive, and deeply restorative.

Working from my large warehouse studio near the water, I paint at a scale that allows me to physically enter the work — to move with it, rather than simply observe it. This immersive process is essential. It keeps the work honest, embodied, and connected to something larger than myself.

At its core, my practice is about creating paintings that hold energy — pieces that shift the atmosphere of a space and invite a moment of pause. I want the viewer to feel a sense of openness, possibility...

SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Hub Insurance
Caesars Casino International Windsor, Ontario
General Motors. Detroit. Michigan
Carlyle Group. Washington. DC
Grey Advertising. New York. NY
Eastern Construction. Toronto. Ontario
Saturn Tool & Die. Detroit. Michigan
KPMG International. Toronto, Ontario
BMO Financial. Windsor. Ontario
TLC The Laser Center. Tulsa. Oklahoma
A & W Food Services. Vancouver, BC
Ethan Allen Global. NYC, NY

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Ronald McDonald House Windsor
University of Windsor. Windsor
Sacred Heart Seminary. Detroit. Michigan
Ste Cecile International. Library. Windsor
County of Essex City Hall. Essex, Ontario
Windsor Family Credit. Windsor
Art Gallery of Windsor. Museum for Southwest Ontario. Canada

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012 Bartlett Gallery. Vibrations. Alton. Ontario
2012 New Era Gallery. Forces of Nature. Austin. Texas
2010-11 Art Gallery of Windsor. Museum. Forces of Nature. (Catalog) Curator James Patten
2010 Sweet Gallery. Horizons. Naples. Florida
2009 Alan Barnes Fine Art. Vistas (Catalog). Dallas. Texas
2009 Artspeak Gallery. Intimate Wax. Curator Utsey Hadaro. Windsor
2008 Leonardo Galleries. Colourscapes. Toronto
2007 St. Clair Centre for the Arts. Windsor Symphony Orchestra Benefit. Windsor
2004 Capitol Arts Centre. Juried. Colorscapes. Windsor
2002 Cobo Hall. Invitational. Colorscapes. Detroit. Michigan
2001 DKP Gallery. Invitational. Recent Work. Toronto

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024. 33 Contemporary Gallery Resilience. Curated by Sergio Gomez - Artsy
2023. LAC Gallery, Curated. Windsor. Winner Honorable Mention
2019 Jen Tough Gallery. Learning Curve. Curated. San Francisco, California
2018 Sho Gallery. Invitational. Windsor
2018 Accelerator Gallery. Art Re-Zoned. (catalog) Curated 4-artist. Windsor
2017 Artsy Shark. The Abstract W...