I see best with my eyes closed. Imagination is the key to create your own reality.

-Quote by Alina Shirley

I create meaningful stories with colourful, bright and beautiful artworks with a signature magical swirl that sets people free into a fantasy or surreal memories where their dreams are real. 

My Story

“My work is free to try different media, explore what inspires me, and make my own story. Brush in hand, I am the master of my art story.”

- Quote Alina Shirley

Since I was a child, I was passionate about art and stories and many of my inspirations can be drawn from my childhood. Until recently, I was a self-taught artist who was strongly mentored by my mother, a solid primary and high school art education, and night-time classes. Now, my studies have played a great part in my professional development. My Bachelor of Business Management and Philosophy with writing electives from the University of Queensland has developed my business sense and writing skills. My Diploma of Visual Arts from RMIT University in Melbourne with UX/UI electives has developed my art and design skills.  I’m originally from Brisbane (Australia), but I have been greatly inspired by my travels extensively around the world, and living overseas in Maastricht (Netherlands), Doha (Qatar), and interstate in Melbourne (Australia). I am a traveling artist, so I enjoy capturing the beauty of people and nature in the world through cityscapes and landscapes. My family, and my dog, Narla, has been greatly supportive and inspiring to my art and writing. Love for nature, including human nature, animals, and the environment, and dreams and fantasies empowering the imagination, are key underlying themes in my work. For most of my life I have pursued my art and writing part-time. Finally, in 2022 I spread my wings as an artist and writer setting up my own art business. In 2022, I graduated from my art studies at RMIT. I published 2 children’s books about Narla, with more to come. I exhibited in 20 shows. This included work on a mural with a group of artists where I left my mark on Melbourne city. Also, I curated and exhibited a group artist show at the Stephen McLaughlan Gallery called, “Journeys Through Life and Death.” I have come a long way from having my first public show in 2019 at Bean Café in Brisbane called, “A World Away.” Now, in March 2023, I will exhibit with The Australian Guild of Realist Artists Gallery in Melbourne. In the future, I intend to publish a third book in the Narla book series to make a trilogy, called, “Narla Says Come Read with me.” I also intend continue working on a novel with illustration artwork and continue to grow and exhibit my collections of art. Read my blog to learn more about my story and stay updated with social media and my seasonal news updates.   

My Art 

“I’m not concerned with pure reality, only with making it the dream people can escape too and love. Dreams that put smile a on people’s faces are the realities I seek to make real.”

- Quote by Alina Shirley

I see myself as a storyteller who expresses themselves as an artist, illustrator, and writer. I create meaningful stories with colourful, bright, and beautiful artworks and a signature magical swirl that sets people free into a fantasy or surreal memory where they dream to be. The main purpose of my art and stories is to support people make places they want to be. My art style comprised of 10 key elements: 1) colourful diversity, 2) bright and beautiful work, 3) a signature magical swirl and whimsical mark making, 4) story based and illustrative, 5) surreal fantasy creating magic and dreams, 6) impressionist based on feel and memory, 7) detailed and artistically technical, 8) mixed media embracing freedom and experimentation, 9) symbolic and conceptual aiming at happiness, and finally 10) All my work has an underlying theme of nature in the form of human nature, animals and the environment. It also promotes the power of imagination to shape our own reality and live the way we dream too. To see more about my style read below. Most people see my work as highly diverse and, in some cases, inconsistent, but those who know me know it all embraces my style and finds its place in the story it has to tell. My art is free to follow the path my imagination takes me, and that could be anywhere. This is why I base my art in “Story Worlds,” these are the collections of art that relate to the same theme or story. Some of my most consistent story worlds are: Narla’s Books (Narla’s Story Time), Travel Stories from a World Away (landscapes, cityscapes and nature), the Nerdom (video games, DND, TV shows, Movies), Fantasy and dreamscapes, music and dance, poetry with art, and still life objects. My art and stories are animal or creature-based children’s books, fantasy young-adult novels, illustrated short stories, and artwork with a story and philosophical message in my style. My art aims to bring joy, happiness, inspiration, and motivation to people’s lives. I aim to create spaces and places people want to be and are free to be their best self. My art embraces beauty as truth, art as freedom for self-expression, and diversity for creative innovation. My art brings treasured stories to the homes and hearts of families inspiring people to follow their dreams.

My Art Style

  • Colourful Diversity

    Live life to its fullest discovering every colour of life’s rainbow. The many colours in my work represent diversity and creativity thriving to bring excitement and joy to life. Colours are adventures that stream together in harmony and bring my art alive.

  • Bright and Beautiful

    My colours are vivid, powerful, and shining like a star to bring out their beauty. I find the beauty inside my chosen subject and reveal it to show its truth. Beauty is the light can be found in all things and shown in my art.

  • Magical Swirl

    The Magical swirl is my signature whimsical swirling mark-making. The swirl is a stylistic choice that symbolises the magic of creativity. It allows people and places to be transformed into dreams and fantasies that bends and twists reality to reveal its beauty within.

  • Story Based

    All my art is based on a story. My art is broken into “Story Worlds” these are the collections of art that relate to the same theme or story. For example, “A world Away” tell all stories of my travels. In some cases, my artworks are illustrations to a story, like Narla’s Children’s story books art. I have many stories to tell and story worlds to make.

  • Surreal Fantasy

    I’m inspired by surreal and fantasy-based artists. I work with real references capturing them from multiple perspectives and warping them into a fantasy. When I capture real subjects, I do it in an abstract way that seeks to capture the feel or concept of the subject rather than its visual reality. The result is a dreamlike fantasy of reality, or in artist terms “surreal art.”

  • Impressionist Memory

    I’m inspired by the impressionists, among my favourite artists are Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas. I seek to master their techniques to capture the feel and memory of places. The impression of a thing or a place left on my memory makes it more real to me. The feeling and the memory will live on in my art.

  • Detailed and Technical

    I adore the high detail and technical excellence of mastering the finest and precise brush strokes. I see the smallest details and believe they make the biggest difference to the overall picture. I would never leave a canvas one colour, because where is the skill in that? Growing my refinement and technical polish is of high importance to my practice.

  • Freedom and Experimentation

    Freedom is at the core of my work. My work is mixed media and diverse in subject matter, because I believe the best creative work comes through freedom to experiment. I love to experiment with different media and find new effects and techniques. Experimentation must not be limited by the confines of imperfection or known rules to achieve innovation.

  • Symbolic Meaning and Happiness

    I use many symbols in my art to convey deep emotions and philosophical concepts to find meaning in life’s diverse journeys and nature. My work means to bring dreams, happiness, beauty, and freedom to light. Overall, my art aims to support people make places they want to be in this life.

So, Why the Swirl Star symbol?

“My art supports people make places they want to be!”

(Alina’s mission Statement)

The swirl of the star represents Alina’s signature magical swirl. The star is bright and colourful to represent the beauty, diversity, and living a colourful life. The star is shooting through the sky symbolising being free to pursue a fantasy or dreams to find happiness and make meaning in life. The swirl star encapsulates all the elements of Alina Shirley’s style and her aim: to support people make the places they want to be.

To learn more about my story, process, studio and story check out my blog.

To follow my story connect on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest @alinashirley.art

Please get in touch if you want to know more about my stories and Art. I hope to hear from you!