Shirley Cresswell

“Our beautiful beaches inspire many of my paintings. To feel like you can walk into a painting, feel the sand, the light breeze and see the waves crashing in. I like to think that the painting is like looking out the window at somewhere you would love to be. It hopefully makes people remember special days they have had enjoying the beach with their families. I adore old dinghies and I just love to imagine the adventures people have had in these beautiful boats. I attempt to make my paintings 3-dimensional so that you can feel like you want to climb inside the boat or stroll down the walkway”.   Shirley Cresswell is a fulltime artist based in Matarangi on the Coromandel, New Zealand. Her beautiful paintings are exhibited in galleries throughout New Zealand and in her home studio. Shirley has developed her own style and technique painting photo realism in acrylics. By applying paint in many layers she achieves a realist style that captures light in her work.   Shirley has won numerous awards for her paintings. In 2013 winning first prize at the Auckland Easter Show, the Cliftons people’s choice award 2014 in Auckland and features on the cover of the 2015 New Zealand Art Calendar.  Shirley created one of the artworks for the Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt to support Starship Hospital alongside New Zealand’s leading and emerging artists, designers and celebrities. Her egg, a beautiful beach and sand-dune panorama painting called “Dune Eggcursion” is pictured above. Shirley’s paintings are sought after by art collectors in New Zealand and internationally. With paintings in private collections in United States of America, Canada, England, Europe and Australia.