Art making is an exploratory process for me – I start with a concept, then set up parameters such as colors, media and size, seeing where those preliminary provisos take me. Working in various media, I examine the idea in mind, allowing the paint to migrate in unanticipated directions, occasionally deconstructing then reconstructing works. I paint on paper and canvas, but also on innovative substrates, such as stiffened silk, a surface I create.
My abstract paintings reference the natural world, striving for a peaceful co-existence with the planet and people. Specifically to this end, most recently I have created peace-themed paintings, embellishing the 1958 peace symbol.
My studio is based in Sacramento, and I have exhibited art on the West Coast, from Vancouver to Los Angeles, but primarily in the greater Sacramento area. I completed an MFA in Painting, with Honors, at the San Francisco Art Institute and BA degrees in both Art History and Art Studio at Sac State. I am a Gallery Artist at the Elk Grove Fine Arts Center, where opening art receptions are the first Saturday 4-7pm monthly. I hope to meet you during an art reception and would enjoy talking with you about art!
Shirley Hazlett Art Studio, 2025
Art chat area, surrounded by recent paintings on silk
She has exhibited artworks at the Pence Gallery in Davis, Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento, The Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Santa Monica, ArtSpace in British Columbia, KB Gallery in Oregon, and the Diego Rivera Gallery and Root Division, both in San Francisco. She also has shown paintings at Axis Gallery, Shimo Center for the Arts, The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center, Arthouse on R, ACAI Gallery in Fair Oaks, and the Sacramento Temp. Her work is installed at locations in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Carmichael, and San Francisco.
Shirley has had a lifelong love for the arts, starting at age 7 when she was the self-appointed family photographer with her beloved Brownie Starflash Kodak camera, capturing her world 12 images per roll. She added textile arts to her repertoire as a teenager, working with natural fibers such as silk and cotton, materials she uses today in her painting practice. In her spare time, she enjoys walking her dog, playing and listening to others play the mountain dulcimer and the bowed psaltery.
She completed an MFA in Painting, with Honors, at the San Francisco Art Institute and holds dual BA degrees in Art Studio and Art History from the California State University, Sacramento. Her studio practice is based in Sacramento, California.
Shirley opens her studio to visitors by appointment. If you'd like to visit Shirley's studio, please contact her.
Copyright 2025, Shirley Hazlett, all rights reserved