About the Artist

I am Shirley Jean Aboudib. It is my pleasure to tell you about myself and my paintings. I have always loved art and nature and the simple things in life. Early on I learned to work with many different kinds of media; pencil, colored pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic and finally my favorite, oil paints. I attended Michigan State University and received a BS in Interior Design and studied fine arts at the university level but it wasn't until 1992 that I did my first oil painting of a little girl with a goat. I learned to paint using a limited palette and still use that technique. Although I feel like I have great accomplishments in painting I still know I have a lot to learn and enjoy the challenge of every new painting.

My grandmother, Jean Bauer, was a painter and I always admired the work she did and the fact that she had her own 'studio'. I regret that I was never able to learn under her before she died. I did, however, get her paint box and after moving it from one house to another for many years I opened it for the first time more than 20 years after she last closed it and I am still using many of her paints! She is my inspiration and I know her talent was passed on to me. I feel blessed that God has given me this talent and I like to share it with others. For this reason, when I first began to paint I felt that my paintings were a gift that I wanted to give others and that is what I did with most of them. I have also painted for Charity, donating my artwork to various fund-raisers.

I have always admired God's handiwork in creating the natural beauty around us. I love the color and symmetry that is found in nature. I have been blessed to live on or near a lake most of my life and I am very drawn to scenes that include water, boats, cottages, landscapes, rivers and streams. I also love painting country roads, barns and open fields as well as still lifes. I love the style of the Impressionist Masters and it is always my challenge to reproduce their techniques. I enjoy to work 'en plain aire' (the french term means open air painting), but favor the stability and comfort of my studio. Most of my painting are done 'alla prima', meaning they are done in one sitting either from still lifes that I set up or from my own personal photographs. I prefer to use a smaller format 6x6", 5x7", 8x10" or 9x12".

I have worked on a variety of surfaces, including canvas, masonite, walls, fabric and glass. I like the rigidity of gessoed masonite panels and the texture of canvas. While my early paintings were all done on stretched canvas, most of my current works are done on masonite and are easily framed or displayed on a decorative easel. The edges of each painting are painted and they are coated with a protective varnish.

Whatever the reason you have come to my website I would like to welcome you. I always find inspiration in other artists work and appreciate the different forms of art that are available today. If you are a collector, thank you for considering my art. You are what pushes me on and what encourages me to refine my skill. All paintings are initialed on the front and signed and dated on the back.