ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is influenced by my experiences with and responses to the natural world. I have always enjoyed being outside, where I find myself observing and absorbing everything around me – on the ground or in the air. Most of the time, this generates curiosity, awe, pleasure or makes me question why something is a certain way. Since the pandemic, during lots of long walks, I think a lot about the world and what is happening, what the future holds, what’s next. And I also think about time and how we measure it, the abstract of it, how quickly or slowly it seems to move.
I am an optimist by nature, and I look for the beauty, for what makes me happy, what seems to represent renewal, growth, and opportunity. But, also, I think about how we are altering the planet, the loss of forests and the general over-development and pollution in our world. Nature to me represents promise and loss, and my art is an expression of what I see now or hope for in the future.
I work in different mediums – monotype printing, collage, photography, painting and mixed media. I love how pieces can be a simple, stripped-down image or made from building multiple layers of color and shapes and textures. The freedom of that flexibility lends itself to my interests – where a work can be minimal or rich with many dimensions. And I love how surprises can occur in a work and take a completely different direction than originally intended.
BIO
Shelly Ramsay is an artist residing in Westport, CT. After spending 25 years as a marketing professional, she turned her focus to creating art during the pandemic. Primarily self-taught, she has been making art throughout her life and has studied at The Washington Studio School and Silvermine Arts Center. Shelly works in monotype, photography, painting, collage and mixed media. She is a member of the Monotype Guild of New England and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. Her work has been selected for inclusion in the following juried shows in 2022: Art of the Flower, Medford Arts Center, Medford, NJ; Adams County Arts Council’s 18th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Gettysburg College, PA; Leave A Mark, Works on Paper, Wallkill River Center for the Arts, Montgomery, NY; 31st Annual Juried Show, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY; Stamford Art Association juried Summer Pop Up Show, Townhouse Gallery, Stamford, CT.
