Shelley N. Stevens
Shelley N. Stevens graduated as valedictorian of Kendall College of Art and Design in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Painting and Art History), and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree with highest honors in 2004. She also studied photography and art history at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, England. Her early experiences in the world of art changed her life in ways she could not have imagined, and she went on to teach advanced painting and drawing at Central Michigan University while maintaining her primary studio in Michigan.
"Plume" oil on canvas 40" x 30"
"Watching and Waiting" oil on canvas 24" x 18"
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"The Summer of My Youth" oil on canvas 30" x 30"
"The Exquisite Farewell" oil on canvas 30" x 30"
Shelley's summer residence near Harrington, Maine, began in 2009 when she and her husband founded Golden Apple Art Residency for which Shelley serves as Director. This residency program accommodates multiple artists and writers-in-residence from all over the United States and beyond. Shelley’s experiences of Maine’s natural surroundings led to her series All The Stories Never Told, an ongoing body of work inspired by the quiet, reflective places she encounters in rural Downeast Maine.
Although Shelley is well-known for her large-scale figurative work, the absence of humans in this series of paintings allows for nature to speak in our place relaying a more intimate and nuanced story. Shelley’s work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions and has received many awards at juried regional, national and international exhibitions. Several of her paintings were included in a television documentary titled Re-Enchantment produced by the Australia Broadcasting Network and released in 2011. You can read more about Golden Apple Art Residency and view more of Shelley’s work at www.goldenapplestudio.com