Meet guest tutor Shelly Perkins
In spring 2024, artist Shelly Perkins joined the Nature Studio community as a guest tutor.
Meet Shelly in this interview video...
Pour yourself a hot drink and then join Shelly and Anna in this video where they discuss Shelly's classes here at Nature Studio, her creative process and her journey as an artist:
A quick introduction...
Shelly Perkins is a landscape and wildlife artist based in rural Worcestershire, UK. Her work is influenced by her travels around the world in search of wildlife and wild places as well as the beauty of nature on her own doorstep. She's travelled to all seven continents and uses the experiences of these travels as a catalyst for her collections of work. Shelly uses a mix of traditional drawing and painting and digital techniques for her studio work and the foundations of plein air painting and sketch work have a strong influence on her as reference material.
Her work has featured in various nature periodicals like BBC Wildlife magazine and Travel Africa, and has been exhibited in national galleries like Nature in Art Museum in the UK and the National Museum of Wildlife art in the US. Shelly has written two books about her art and travels, one of which recounts the stories from her artist residency with the Royal Navy on HMS Protector when she travelled to Antarctica.
https://www.shellyperkins.co.uk/
Here's a taste of Shelly's portfolio artwork:
How does Anna know Shelly?
Anna says: " I first met Shelly some 15 years ago when we both exhibited with the Nature In Art museum at the Art in Action festival in Oxfordshire. I was captivated by Shelly’s art and have bought several prints for my own home. I’ve loved following her career over the years and, knowing her personally I m thrilled to bring her unique nature inspired artwork, and her relaxed and informative teaching style, to you here."
What are Shelly's classes like?
Shelly’s filmed several classes 'Plein air' (in the great outdoors!) for us, showing us how to capture macro studies as well as landscapes in her beautiful line and wash style with pen and watercolour.
You’ll be able to work from photos she provides to paint along with her, and through the classes you’ll also learn how to work plein air so that you can apply these skills to painting your own scenes outdoors too.
Best of all, you’ll get to feel like you’ve taken a trip to somewhere wild from the comfort of your art nook, as Shelly takes you to some beautiful places in the UK and US.
What art supplies does Shelly use?
You can use your regular artmaking supplies to work in the style Shelly teaches. In this list you can see details of her favourite items to take with her when she's making art outdoors 'en plein air'.
Will Shelly see the artwork I share in the website after taking her classes?
Yes, Shelly has joined Nature Studio as a Coach and will be a regular presence in our community, keeping a special eye out for artwork by members who've completed her classes.
When will more of Shelly's classes be released?
The first set of Shelly's classes, filmed in the UK. came out mid-spring 2024. They featured a sweeping meadow of bluebells in Shropshire.
A series of 9 classes followed, where Shelly took us to some stunning locations in Yosemite National Park.
Next stop: Shelly will be taking us to Southern Utah and the first set of these classes is due out in late spring 2025.