Watercolor painting has been Shirley’s favorite activity since she was a teenager. Her devotion to watercolors has gradually become a life-long study of technique and creativity. To Shirley, painting with watercolor is exciting and challenging, especially when it comes to maintaining the transparency of colors and rhythm during the process. It creates wonderful surprises in one moment, and the next can plunge you into chaos.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Shirley studied graphic design at California College of the Arts and worked in New York, Toronto and San Francisco. Her formal training and years of working experience as a designer have significantly impacted her aesthetic approach in watercolors. In her composition, there is a strong emphasis on the contrast among shapes. On paper, she allows her colors to collide into each other and plays with hard and soft edges, enshrining bright highlights and layering dark shadows.
Shirley enjoys painting all kinds of subjects, especially those which represent her background and the San Francisco Bay Area where she lives. She also believes that good painting subjects are all around us. Among her favorite subjects are ordinary scenes such as vegetation along a path (Growing Wild), workers at a construction site (Welding in Sunset) and trees in a local park (Autumn Shadows). Most of Shirley’s recent landscapes were created outdoors right at the spot (en plein air), while other paintings were created in her own studio.
Shirley is also a painting instructor teaching Bay Area residents of all ages.
• 2009 to 2022 - Lascaux Academy, Belmont CA
• 2012 to present - Brisbane Parks & Recreation, Brisbane CA
• 2014 to present - Peninsular Jewish Community Center, Foster City CA
Any questions or to purchase paintings, please email: shirley@limwatercolor.com
Member of Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society, California Watercolor Association and Burlingame Plein Air Painters