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Meet the Artist - Shelley Wallace Ylst

  • Writer: Annie Mason
    Annie Mason
  • 3 min read


Meet the Artist. The place where I introduce YOU to an artist through a virtual interview. Our featured artist is Shelley Wallace Ylst.





Images and Text contain links



Shelley Wallace Ylst

South Jordon, Utah



  • Who are you and what is your background?


My name is Shelley Ylst and I live in South Jordan, Utah. I have a husband, two grown children, and of course the smartest and cutest grandchildren in the world! I started painting with watercolor in high school and studied art in college. I love the spontaneity and transparency of watercolors. My art is always evolving and full of joy.





My mom was always my biggest fan (of course), and years ago she was a realtor and commissioned me to make a calendar of vintage houses to give to her clients. Together we would drive through areas in Salt Lake City that had amazing vintage houses to take reference photos, and that is how I came to love painting house portraits. The main part of my art business is now commissioned paintings of people’s homes.




"Garden House" Canvas Print by ShelleyYlstArt on Redbubble




Penelope Pig Art Print by Shelley Ylst Art

My other favorite subjects are flowers and animals and I often combine them together. Growing up I always had cats and dogs and love their sweetness and companionship. Since I live in Utah flowers are seasonal, but I fill my areas with them in the spring and summer and it brings me great joy.







  • What is your favorite medium?

I love watercolors and sometimes I add in ink and colored pencils. Over the years I have tried other mediums but always gravitate back to watercolors. I like the transparency and flow of them and how you can build layers and float colors together.




The Flamingo Family's Day at the Beach [links to Society6]




  • What has been your favorite response to your work?


Some of My Favorite Things [links to canvas print Society6]

I love bright colors and flowers and nothing gives me more joy than when someone tells me my art gives them good feelings and makes them happy. My grandchildren make requests of things they want me to paint for them all the time. When we were all quarantined last year we started an art club where each grandchild would specify what they wanted me to paint, then I would mail it to them with a request of what I wanted them to paint for me, then they would mail their creations to me. It was so much fun and such a great way to navigate through a difficult time.











  • What is the strongest memory of your childhood?

I grew up in the 1960s when we all had a very carefree childhood. There were so many kids in our neighborhood and we could roam our streets and play together outside until our mothers called us home. I was the youngest and only daughter and when I look back I lived a charmed and wonderful life and we always had many cats and dogs that I dearly loved.


  • Professionally what is your goal?

I don’t really have a certain goal in mind, I recently had a health scare and am semi-retired so I have more time for my art. I am very happy to just keep creating (I have so many ideas in my head!) and hopefully make people smile. I enjoy doing commissioned work and selling through my Print=on-Demand sites. And I always want to improve and explore new techniques.


  • What jobs have you done other than being an artist?

When I was in college I worked for a local school district doing illustrations for anything they needed. After I married, my husband and I have been entrepreneurs and owned many businesses in many different areas and I have always done the artwork and graphics for all these businesses. I have owned a lighting store, a hair salon, and a company that sold hair extensions. I was a realtor for a year and didn’t like that job at all. And I have always gravitated back to art!





Thank you SO MUCH, Shelley. My readers are grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule to share your art, your talent, and the amazing array of bright, colorful designs and paintings that you create. We can see why your grandkids request more art!


Readers, be sure to follow:


Shelley's website: Shelley Wallace Ylst


Society6: Shelley Ylst Art


Redbubble: ShelleyYlstArt


Instagram: @shelley_ylst_art






Visit all the MEET THE ARTIST posts.


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That blank canvas doesn't scare me.

  • Writer: Annie Mason
    Annie Mason
  • 2 min read


Well, maybe. Just a tad.


I haven't done acrylic painting in a very long time. It'll come back to me, right?


Our new house has a lovely fireplace mantel longing for a canvas painting. Here I am, four months into living in our new home. It's time to give that space a painting.


Here we go:



Supplies:



































































Now, the hard part: what to paint. It's in my head. It's one of our favorite vacation spots: Sedona Arizona


I do work from photographs (as many artists do). Our daughter took the photo on a trip out west. Jeep tours are a great way to get up close and personal, gaining a lot of information if you get a good guide. Here's one: Pink Tours from among many others. Or check these from a list: The 6 Best Sedona Jeep Tours




You can see the sky area (although it is subtle because I chose not to bring the dark blue completely to the edge of the mountainous horizon line.


Work in Progess

⬇️ Work in Progress



I added cacti to the left foreground; now to fill the empty space.




That space could be problematic. Put something too detailed, and it would take away from the detailed cactus. I decided to keep this area nice and straightforward with the desert sand and earth-toned colors.


This set is FABULOUS! Strongly pigmented colors are perfect for this painting!




⬆️

Am I finished?


It is a never-ending challenge for the artist. It's "quite" done. Sometimes, it's a good idea to walk away from a task. I don't consider painting a task because I love it. But like other decisions, it's a good idea to take time and ponder for a moment. "Sleep on it," my grandma used to say.




SEDONA. Vortex and meditation. Oum. Break time.










One day later: 🕰


After careful thought, I decided not to make any significant changes. My style is loose. The image lends itself to a quick, rough pattern with the brush (and a bit of pen and ink), an homage to the grand desert landscape with its rocks, prickly pears, and dramatic sky. So what you see in these close-up pictures is a bit more detail and the use of darks and lights to emphasize the textures.


Now, clean up the sides of the canvas. Since I will not be framing it for placement on the mantel, I painted entirely around the sides. Acrylics dry quickly, but even if it is dry to the touch, it is a good idea to wait about a week before applying a varnish coat to the artwork. For a technical description of the drying process, check Golden Paints Drying






Blank wall waiting for a not-so-blank canvas.


Another few days to dry completely 🕰

Ta Da!








Thank you for joining me on this journey. Looks like that blank canvas wasn't so scary after all. Sometimes, you have to DO IT!


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Connecticut Artists - Historical and Conceptual

  • Writer: Annie Mason
    Annie Mason
  • 3 min read

This series introduces artists associated with certain states; this one features the state of Connecticut.


The state of Connecticut has been, and still is, the birthplace, workplace, and/or home of many fine artists.


Like many noted here, the eighteenth century was the flowering and fulfillment for many portrait artists.


b. 1751 d.1801


Ralph Earl was born in Massachusetts and established his art studio in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1774 at 23. A Loyalist, Earl refused to fight in the Revolutionary War, and his father’s suspicion that he was a spy for the British led him to disinherit his son, and Earl fled to England. There, he studied with Benjamin West. He returned to his native country after the war and settled in Connecticut, where his patrons, the country gentry, appreciated his straightforward landscapes and portraits, [Smithsonian American Art Musuem]

Mrs. Joseph Wright. 1788. oil on canvas

Like other artists of his time, Earl joined other portrait and landscape painters whose business relied on the country gentleman and their wives who loved the prestige of having a well-known artist capture the finery and status for posterity.


Sadly, Earl had a self-destructive streak and died from drinking.













Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull 1819. oil on canvas

b. 1756 d.1843




John Trumbull was frequently called the "Painter of the Revolution." The painting above is one of three that Trumbull painted during the Revolutionary period. All hang in the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol (Fortunately, none were damaged during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots).


Son of the Connecticut governor, John Trumbull graduated from Harvard College in 1773, worked as a teacher, and then served as an aide to George Washington. Traveling to England, Trumbull also studied with Benjamin West. Encouraged by Thomas Jefferson, he began to work on historical themes. In 1817 Trumbull was commissioned by the U.S. Congress to paint four large pictures that remain in the rotunda, finishing them in 1824.







b. 1825 d.1900





Cotopaxi, 1862. oil on canvas

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Frederic was the son of a wealthy businessman. At a young age, he studied with Thomas Cole, a prestigious landscape painter. Frederic began to specialize in ambitious nature scenes, serious enough that he traveled extensively to Columbia and Ecuador, where he painted Cotopaxi. This volcanic scene was thought to reflect the volatile event of the Civil War rumbling through Church's native country.



b.1898 d.1976


American sculptor known for his "mobiles" (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents). Born into a family of artists, his work gained attention in Paris in the 1920s. He was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.



Rouge Triomphant [fr{ Triumphant Red 1959 - 1963

Although most famous for these mobiles, Calder created paintings, prints, and miniatures, as well as his work in theatre design, jewelry, tapestries, and political posters. Calder has extensive collections in museums across the world. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously in 1977.



b. 1928 d. 2007


Born Solomon LeWitt in Hartford, Connecticut, "Sol" was an American artist linked to various movements, notably conceptual art and minimalism. He attended Syracuse University and moved to New York City in 1963 following military service in Korea.



Untitled by Sol LeWitt

Sol worked as a graphic designer for the architect, I.M. Pei, During that period he started concentrating on sculptures of various gridlike axial arrangements of modular white aluminum, wood, or metal cubes.


Working in this vein, he concluded "that the planning of a work of art would always be more significant than its execution as an object." This became a credo of conceptual art, LeWitt wrote in Artforum magazine in 1967.



For his thoughts on "conceptual art," watch this interview with Sol LeWitt conducted by Stefan Römer. 10/2/2004, New York City.

(Full-length version available on www.conceptual-paradise.com)





Living Artist

Fairfield, Connecticut



From her artist statement: "My fascination has always been with the organic line of Nature, most specifically, the ocean."



A sampling of her artwork below:






Books available on the artists in this post:





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