I was pleased to see this inclusion in the West Weekend Magazine on Saturday 14 April with some very flattering words:

Gorgeous Nelly here might look like she’s posing for the camera but this is actually one of the magnificent portraits on show at local artist Nicky Shelton’s debut solo exhibition, A Bird’s Perspective.

Shelton’s oil paintings are nothing short of breathtaking. Catch her work at The Rose Hotel, 78 Stirling Highway, Fremantle from May 11 to 13

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My upcoming solo exhibition has now been announced.

The Travel Section of the Weekend West on March 17â €™18 featured Whiteman Park, and as resident birdlife artist I was included â

I was pleased to welcome the 20 photographers, led by Travel Editor Steven Scourfield, to the Village  ârt Gallery, and show them my bird portraits â

The feature highlighted a visit by the West  âustralian Travel Club the Sunday beforeÂ â  Whiteman Park had been selected as a location for one of their regular Photo Walks â

Steven was kind enough to include me in this feature â €™ with both words and a photo of me working on one of my current pieces â

I am calling this portrait of three Red Tailed Black Cockatoos “The Chaperone” â

More of the photographers ⠀™ pictures from the day can be seen in the club ⠀™s online gallery at sevenwesttravelclub âcom âau â There are many shots of myself and my artworks included in that gallery â

You will be able to see “The Chaperone” at my upâ €™coming exhibition in May â

More details on the exhibition will be released over the next few weeks â It will be at the Rose Cafe in North Fremantle over the weekend 11th to 13th May â

The exhibition is an opportunity to see a collection of my bird portraits together with a small selection of Plein  âir â  âll artworks will be for sale â

An article written by journalist Bruce Manners for RETIRENOTES.com

Nicky Shelton retired early—at the age of 53—because she wanted to and could – ‘But I hadn’t thought about what I was going to do next,’ she says. ‘I didn’t have a clue.’

That was three and a half years ago. In that time, she has been developing as an artist. She’s following her passion, and her enthusiasm comes through as she talks about it—along with a ready laugh.

The journey to becoming an artist

Nicky enjoyed art at school. She was accepted into Fine Arts at university, but deferred when she met her husband to be. ‘I had a flair for sales and I needed to survive. I knew I was either going to be a poor artist or make it in the sales world. That led into my work with recruitment.’

But, ‘every now and again I’d sort of appear at Claremont Art School in Perth, a local TAFE (Technical and Further Education) for artists’. When she retired, she went back to the art school and studied under D’hange Yammanee, an established Australian artist—originally from Thailand.

‘He was a real life-changer for me,’ says Nicky. She joined a group of 10 to study intensive portraiture with him. He has been her tutor and mentor for the past three years.

But she didn’t continue with portraits: ‘I like detail and I could have continued, but having spent 30 years in the recruitment industry I didn’t want to deal with the different aspects of personalities. I love birds and I love nature and that set a natural course. I started painting Australian birds.’

I found her, brush in hand, in her shared studio and gallery at Whiteman Park, next to the Caversham Wildlife Park on the edge of Perth. She was working on a large canvas where her trademark precision and detail was on show in the unfinished painting.

‘I now roost at the gallery,’ she says with a laugh.

Steps to early retirement

Three things were important in leading her to an early retirement:

A successful career: Nicky had had a ‘very successful career’ of over 30 years. It included running her own recruitment agency. David, her husband, was also involved—both were directors of the business. They recruited accounting and legal staff, and state government staff for temporary and permanent positions.

When they sold the business in the early 2000s, she worked as a consultant to other recruiting agencies. She had developed confidence that she could succeed in whatever she chose to do.

Timing: Even though she had no plan, the passion for her work was gone â She just knew it was time for a change—time for retirement â

Financial strength: ‘We’d been fortunate enough to sell our business and we had assets that provide us with a passive income. That gave me the freedom to stop. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if we didn’t have financial security.’

Making the dream work

Nicky is reinventing herself in retirement. ‘I’m an achiever,’ she says. ‘I always need to have a sense of achievement. Painting does that for me because I’m creating something.’ But several things have helped her achieve what she has.

People in her life: D’hange Yammanee is ‘incredibly encouraging,’ she says. ‘He’s a really honest mentor. He doesn’t give people false hope. I love that about him.’

‘David is my biggest advocate. His support is incredible.’ They’d made a pact with each other ‘way, way back’ that they would let each other live their own lives. There would be give and take so there are no regrets.

David retired almost a year ago and wants to travel. They plan to spend a year in Europe, but she will continue to paint while there. That’s give and take.

She has been delighted by the support she has from various individuals and particularly wildlife bird photographers who provide bird photographs for her paintings.

The head photographer for Bird Life Australia, Georgina Steytler, ‘graciously gives me her photos to work with and she encourages me. She’s also introduced me to other photographers who are now friends.’ The birds in these photographs become her models, but she often changes the background.

Goal setting: Nicky understands that success for her comes in two forms. The first is to ‘make an income from what I do, from my passion.’

Second is gaining recognition as an artist. She has entered four art competitions in the wildlife category in Australia and has been a finalist in each of them. A fifth has been entered in New York: ‘If I become a finalist there, we’ll go to New York.’

Her aim is to achieve international recognition. ‘I’d like to be selling my birds in Europe and America.’

She currently calls herself an ‘emerging artist.’ When her art is recognised and supporting her financially she reckons she will have ‘emerged.’

Her determination: ‘When I was in business, my husband once described me as a Jack Russell taking on a Mack truck and the truck isn’t going to win.’ She laughs and adds that there’s some truth to the description. ‘Usually, once I set my sights on something—unless I get struck down by some terrible disease—it’s going to happen.’

So, watch this space. Or better still, watch her website space here https://nickyshelton.com.au

She’s invited me to check out her career in five years. I’ll let you know what’s happened.

In the meantime, her advice for those who want to find their place in whatever field, is this: ‘Go for it. Absolutely. If you have the time and if you have a passion, why wouldn’t you? It’s incredible what doors open once you focus on your passion.’

As an artist, I enjoy surrounding myself with the life that inspires me. Since finding my niche in realistic birdlife painting I have endeavoured to find a location that reflects and inspires my passion.

I am proud to say I have grown from the family home front porch, to various parks and wildlife locations across Perth to my new creative  location as Resident Birdlife Artist at the Village Art Gallery.Whiteman Park. 

Being one of Perth’s premium wildlife and tourist destinations the Park is also home to the Caversham Wildlife Park. An opportunity to take up the vacant space in the Village Art Gallery  was a dream come true. The perfect advancement for me as an up and coming Birdlife Artist.

After some hard work and loving touches to the Village Art Gallery walls, my Australian Birdlife oil painting’s now graciously hang within the entrance. A wonderful new home and acknowledgement to my artistic achievements from the past few years.

I look forward to meeting you under the sun, on the veranda surrounded by the natural beauty that is Whiteman Park Village Art Gallery.

The Village Art Gallery is located in the heart of the Whiteman Park Village. The gallery is open 10am  to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday and Public Holidays.

Edwina’s Luncheon Orb has been selected as one of the 40 finalists in Australia’s most important bird art prize – the Holmes Art Prize.

The Holmes Art Prize

The Holmes Art Prize rewards excellence in realistic Australian bird art. It showcases Australia’s best birdlife artists depicting a lifelike Australian birdlife scene.

This is Australia’s premier competition for bird artists and bird paintings, and received over 130 submissions last year.

Edwina’s Luncheon Orb

Edwina is a beautiful Baudin’s Cockatoo, toying with her banksia nut as she enjoys eating it.

Edwina’s Luncheon Orb has been created in oil paints. The reference material was from Perth wildlife photographer Shaun Fearn.

My interpretation brings Edwina to life, highlighting her charisma and expressive matriarchal attitude.

In each of my birdlife paintings I create a sense of depth through colours and contrast – to develop a realistic depiction and enhance the details of each bird’s plumage.

I work in oils to provide an added dimension to every bird.

The Holmes Art Prize features the very best of Australia’s leading birdlife artists. I am delighted to be in their company and regard this as my greatest accomplishment as an emerging artist to date. It is a further progression from being jury selected as finalist in both the Emerging Artist Awards, South Perth (2016) and the biennial Mid West Art Prize (2017).

The Exhibition

The Holmes Art Prize finalists will be displayed within the Caloundra Regional Gallery, Queensland throughout November.

Prints of Edwina are available for sale on my web site. My other bird paintings  can also be seen elsewhere on this web site.

I am thrilled to announce that Nelly has been jury selected for judging in the MidWest Art Prize.  Nelly is my favourite bird painting to date.

I see this as important recognition not only for my own bird painting skills, but recognition of realist wildlife painters. Only 60 pieces of 240 submissions have been selected for judging in a competition which embraces all manner and styles of artist expression.

Nelly is an original oil bird painting of a female Australian red-tailed black cockatoo, and I just love her attitude. She is so regal!

Nelly is situated high on a tree, and casting a wise and controlling look over her domain. I have worked really hard on bringing her detailed plumage to the fore as well as getting just the right look in her wise eye.

MidWest Art Prize

This is the fifth Mid West Art Prize which showcases the diversity, quality and innovation of art currently being made in WA.  It is one of the most prominent and valuable prizes in Western Australia, with the exhibition opening on Friday the 16th of June at the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery.

Redtailed Black Cockatoos

A gregarious species, the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is often seen in large flocks, as well as in pairs and trios. It is an active, noisy and conspicuous bird, mainly arboreal, spending much of the day feeding.

At sunset, flocks are often seen flying high, returning from feeding areas to roosts in large trees along the banks of rivers or streams. They may be less wary while feeding than at other times, and generally do not allow a close approach by an observer, readily taking flight and screeching loudly.

Postscript

Nelly has now returned, and hangs proudly in the Village  ârt Gallery at Whiteman Park, where I am the Resident Birdlife Artist.

Come and see her and have a chat with me at Whiteman Park most Wednesdays through Sunday.

Prints of Nelly are also available on the web site.

The request from my Daughter Emma for these flamingos has proven so popular that I have received a new commission for another piece – with more birds this time – to be called “Flamingos a Go Go”.

Emma wanted a piece to hang above her red couch in her apartment, and requested an interpretation of this exhibit from Cottesloe Beach’s annual Sculptures by the Sea exhibition.

While her taste is impeccable,  I wasn’t so sure at first, but it has turned out really well and been one of my most popular pieces. It has had more positive feedback on my Facebook page (Nicky Shelton) than any other painting I have posted.

It has also resulted in a new commission for a similar piece (with more birds) to be called “Flamingos a Go Go”

Here is Emma (with Charlie) sitting on her red couch with her Flamingos. Pity about David’s photographic skills!