Shelley Vanderbyl

Visual Artist

Shelley Vanderbyl is a tenderhearted thought leader with ambitions to bring large amounts of comfort through innovative means. Leveraging her experience as a cancer survivor, she prescribes relational artwork for those who seek comfort and healing. Shelley’s collectors have been deeply touched by her impossibly tiny oil paintings, vast frescoes, and immersive installations created from the materials of Shelley’s profound experiences.  Shelley loves to read studies about the effects of nature on mental health and designs her imagery to put viewers in a fascination state. She is proud to have her work in public and private collections across the globe. 

Recently featured in Watershed Magazine, Shelley’s Trenton, Ontario studio offers two ways to immerse yourself in its wonders: in person and via Zoom. Book via Calendly.

I am layering materials and working with chance, building up surfaces that feel organic, like nature. After the plaster dries, I stare at the shapes that appear; there are more images to see than I could have anticipated. I look at them with others, and it's like we're staring at the bark of a tree, a cracked river bed, or mottled sky. Whereas a pocket painting provides a private, absorbing experience, the fresco makes a space for sitting quietly together in contemplative stillness.