Shirley Phelan Art

I don't know when I became obsessed with skulls, but I am. I love to paint, draw, sketch, etc. images of skulls. This is not limited to animal skulls, although they are my favorite, but human skulls as well. My favorite however are bovine skulls, with the horns attached. The shape of the head combined with the horns, and the many holes and openings in the bone, the highs and lows, lights and darks, found on the surface and under it. The reflective quality of a shiny tooth can

During the Thanksgiving week, we had an exercise to help us paint clouds and trees in an Impressionistic style. It amazes me how quickly these instructors put paint on the canvas and turn it into art. It seems like they use a minimum of brush strokes and their brush just float over the canvas creating magic. I did my paintings quickly, with this in mind, trying not to overthink them. I await the critique from my instructor.

Fayum Paintings, or Fayum Mummy Portraits, are portrait paintings that were discovered in Fayum, which is an oasis region 150 miles south of Alexandria, from the 1st and 2nd century AD. They were excavated from a cemetery, found buried with the mummified remains of the subject. The paintings, by unknown artists, are remarkable for their beauty and lifelike details. They are also remarkable, considering the materials available to paint these portraits. The artists worked with

One of the reasons that I decided to study Art History at AAU is the requirement for studio classes. Understanding the artistic process is important to understanding the art. It also helps to understand terminology better. Terms like underpainting, cartoon, glazes, etc. become clearer when you actually execute them as a painter. As I enter my last semester and work on my Master's thesis, I am often asked, "What are you going to do when you graduate?" Good question... I'm not

I have always been a creative person. I started sewing when I was fairly young and was making my own clothes in high school. I always thought I would do something in the fashion industry, but that didn't happen. After fumbling around a bit, I went to college and got a degree in Business Administration. Not overly creative but it helped pay the bills. I started a job in banking and also worked part time at a local fabric store, using my employee discount to buy fabric and find