My name is Shirley Dawson and I am an artist. Over the years I have taught myself, took classes in person and many online, followed famous artists and learned a lot from them. I began creating art with pencil in my teens, I changed to photographic art in my 20’s and then in my 40’s and beyond I added acrylic media and some watercolor and inks. However, because of my love of photography and digital tools, I also began to learn how to create, modify and edit art and photos with digital tools. First, by editing and changing my photos and then by creating art solely using digital tools and my computer. I have loved both traditional and digital mediums and worked in both for a long while.
I grew up in the delta of central Arkansas and I’m married with one daughter who is a Wycliffe missionary. My husband and I lived mostly in central Arkansas, but now in his retirement from being a financial advisor and my retirement from my civil service job in Information Technology, we have moved to the Ozark hills of northwest Arkansas and downsized our home.
I no longer have a small building/studio in which to create my art and hold all my art and photography gear. My retirement home has only a small room for all my files, books, art tools and photography equipment. So I’ve been gradually getting rid of my art stuff. Letting loose of my standing art easel was hard but I did so. I’m still working on reducing my many art medium supplies. I know I must do so and I’ve been watching the TV Series “Hoarders, Burried Alive” to get motivation to remove more and more art supplies from my retirement home. You might consider that humorous, but I must say it works!
At present I’ve determined to get rid of the last of my photo studio lighting and backdrop equipment and even more of my traditional art supplies and equipment. The only items I plan on keeping are some acrylic paints and brushes, drawing and coloring pencils and some of my Art Trading Card (ATC) supplies.
I will be using my windows computer (A Dell PC) and my Wacom Tablet and pen to create my drawings and art now. I have several labs I can send my artwork to be printed on various products. This includes both art printed on various papers and canvases using digital processes. My art can also be reproduced on other materials and substances if I wish.
I’m looking forward to a better looking office soon.
Here is a before pic of my office with all my art supplies stacked up. My photography stuff is mostly down in the basement right now. My husband thinks his basement will look better without that photography stuff too. I never go down to the basement as I’m in a wheelchair with no way to access that area of the house.
