"Building a Mystery" by: Shelly Gifford

Check out the new minatures show at the Journey through the Arts Gallery in downtown Port Hope..... Wonderful artwork of all kinds from local artisans and artists.
Come by and check it out ! http://www.journeythroughthearts.com/

Good Morning...

"THERE'S A PLACE IN THE SUN, ...WHERE THERE'S HOPE FOR EVERYONE..."  - STEVIE WONDER

What's new?

This website is where I'll be keeping friends, family, art students and clients up to date about what's going on with "me" these days. Please stop by, whenever the spirit moves you, to see my latest creations or browse through the the Art Blog and the Photo Blog. If you're interested in something special in my portfolio, or would like to talk about a commissioned work, or just want to keep in touch, please send me an e-mail and I'll be right back to you. I'd love to hear from you. -- Shelly

Scroll down to check out our favorite Web Sightings at the bottom of the page.

Shelly Gifford Workshops for Artists

At the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, I have taught painting in acrylic, watercolor and life drawing, (with the model) . Contact The Robert McLaughlin Gallery for more information on upcoming classes, or just email me for details of what might be happening locally in art.

Balancing Life & Work

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery was incorporated in 1967 to “...meet the growing and diverse needs of its community through the advancement and appreciation of the visual arts.” The public trust objectives of the Gallery have always stressed collection, preservation, and conservation of fine art, particularly related to Canadian arts and culture, as well as the exhibition and interpretation of the collection through educational programming. The Gallery’s collection and resources are available for research, and the Gallery strives to serve the educational, intellectual, and aesthetic needs of the community both locally and nationally, while collaborating with other galleries that have similar goals.

The Gallery fulfills its mandate in three specific areas of activity: exhibitions, educational outreach, and community programming. The motivation for all activity is: to tell the story of Canadian art, its history and its current state; to provide challenging art experiences, formal and informal, through exhibitions and education for all ages; and to actively engage the local community in the wider possibilities of meaning and enjoyment in art.

The schedules for art education at The Robert McGlaughlin Gallery can be discovered along with other interesting stuff at the gallery.

As well as painting for my own collection—I've been spending a good amount of time in the past four years painting with my little girl, Brianna, ( she is a great artist too!) 

Shelly Gifford Gallery Show

"Awakening" is a showcase of local artists from Northumberland County presented by Journey Through the Arts Gallery showing original art by Shelly Gifford, including the original of Night Wind.



This show at 27 Walton Street, Port Hope, above Smith's Creek Antiques, from March 5th to March 27th, explores the figure and the landscape through painting, mixed media and printmaking.

In addition to original works of art by Shelly Gifford, you can experience recent works by Christine Benson, Wanda Martin Hicks, Whitney Lake, Debbie Linton, Patricia Papp, Heather Roy, Loraine Staples and Pamela Tate.

More of Shelly Gifford's works can be seen at Shelly Gifford Art.

Commissioned Art

On the Shelly Gifford Art Blog, I've posted images of my artwork commissioned by clients, including a portrait of Erin, shown above. Commissioned work can be anything from the imagination of the clients, drawing from their life experiences, travel and family members, or abstract themes created to display in special places at home or office. Click on these pictures once, and then again to view enlarged images.

Book Cover Art

Our latest cover art for a children's book, Still There, Clare, has been published--another collaboration with Tannice Goddard, who does the graphic design and layout. Preparing myself to create the illustrations for this cover, I wanted to:

Enter the world of almost-13-year-old Clare and her best friend Elsa. Clare and Elsa are opposites: Clare’s idea of style is a Superman T-shirt and torn jeans, while Elsa sports outfits with matching accessories. Clare is a long-distance runner who can’t always find the right words, while Elsa walks slowly but talks fast. Clare’s sense of humour is dark and ironic, Elsa’s is bright and witty. But the most unusual thing about Clare and Elsa is the fact that Elsa is imaginary.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and a creating the visual images for the cover.

Book Cover Photography

Working again with Tannice Goddard, who did the graphic layout and typography, I shot the cover photography for The Sound of Living Things, a novel by Élise Turcotte.

The Sound of Living Things was recently published in English translation by Sheila Fischman, who also translated Wild Cat, by Jacques Poulin, another of our covers for the same publisher, Cormorant Books.



I like to really get into the stories and the characters of the books I illustrate or photograph covers for. As a bilingual Canadian, born and raised in the Gaspé, and having lived in Montréal as a young girl, these two books connected with me in both official languages.

Brianna, A Work In Progress

Brianna likes to do what mommy does. Here she's doing a little "dry" painting. If only we could know for sure what she thinks she's doing. When I watch Brianna painting, it puts me in mind of something Henri Matisse once said, "I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it."

Pansies is now a finished work, and is featured on my Art Blog.

Children and their art is the focus of Shelly Gifford Kids.

Click on the photographs, once then again, to view larger images.

So Far So Good

A Life So Far

The raw natural beauty of the Gaspé, where I was born and raised, inspired me from a young age to express my feelings creatively through art and photography.

After high school, I moved to Montréal to study at John Abbott College in theatre and costume design. After graduating, I lived in Quebec City, and beautiful vieux Québec, with its rich culture and art history, inspired me all the more to work on my own art. I moved to Ontario to continue my education in art and, while working in retail and office admin, I took evening classes in drawing and painting at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

When studying painting at Sir Sanford Fleming College, from which I received my diploma, I realized how important it was to me to create art for a living. I opened a small studio and started a business handpainting clothes and selling my designer art clothing at Toronto's Harbourfront and St. Lawrence Market.

With family a growing priority, I moved back to a small town environment to raise my son. Now I'm settled in Port Hope, where I have established the Shelly Gifford Studio to explore my own artistic sensibilities, and to produce fine art and commercial photography for clients.

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A Life So Good

I'm blessed with a strong, supportive family and the opportunity to develop my work, and to create art in a new studio on the ground floor of our home. It's a blessing to be able to love what one does as much as I love creating art and photography. I am thankful for that gift.

My husband is artistic, too. He loves to paint wildlife when he's not working on his creative construction projects, log homes, or his antiques and memorabilia. You can visit his website at Clutterbuck.ca

My dad, Wade Gifford, is the Course Superintendent at Fauvel Golf Club in the Gaspé Peninsula on the East Coast of Canada, and is a well-known designer of golf courses.

My Mom, Carol Tozer, lives in Warren Ont. (near Sturgeon Falls) , where she has a healing centre and retreat, http://www.sacredbalanceretreat.blogspot.com/ Check it out, she offers many workshops and treatments .