Cultural Background: T’Sou-ke Nation, Coast Salish, Sooke, BC

Born in Victoria British Columbia Shelley grew up in the small village of Shirley on the rugged southwest coast of Vancouver Island. Raised by her single hardworking mom and beloved grandmother, Shelley was always exposed to nature and wildlife from the beaches where she lived, to the backwoods camping and fishing trips with her mom and grandma.

Shelley is Coast Salish living on T’Sou-ke Nation reserve and is starting to explore her cultural art forms. Learning more about her art culture of the T’Sou-ke Nation is again inspiring on another level for Shelley. She also has a First Nations motif mural on her nation’s Tim Horton’s Center.

Shelley has always been immersed and inspired by nature. Shelley has devoted over 30 years to the health care of our elderly in the province of B.C. as well as raising two wonderful successful children, a devoted wife of 35 years, Shelley shares her love of art and nature with her husband and children.

Shelley has pursued several different art mediums over the years but really came to love painting, specifically in acrylic, using vibrant color palettes in her work. Shelley is a self-taught artist who is constantly challenging her boundaries and comfort zone. Wildlife is Shelley’s first love, for subject matter, but has challenged those confines in murals and portraits she was commissioned to do in Saanich Peninsula Hospital extended care facility.