About

Shirley Hayes is an English portrait artist and designer based in the North East of the UK.

While working as a Teacher for SEND College in Hartlepool, Shirley uses her free time to concentrate on art. Advancing her passion in portrait and landscape drawings, both from real life and from digital images, created from her own passion from photography. She also uses her artistic talent to provide friends with custom portraits of special memories, straight from their photographs. A service she is now offering to others, opening her own Etsy store, that provides high quality hand drawn works portraits and landscapes.

Expertise

Shirley gained a degree in Surface Pattern Design at Stoke-on-Trent Polytechnic before going on to began at career at Moorcroft Pottery in spring 1992. First as a Paintress and then as part of the design team. Shirley started creating designs such as “Daisy from Amsterdam”, “Rainbow Tropics” and  “Secrete Garden” for the May open weekend.  During the summer of 1999 she created her first Moorcroft range, Palmata.  This was quickly followed by Pheasants Eye (Adonis), Venice, & Saadian to name but a few.

Shirley left Moorcroft in 2004 returning to college to gain a PGCE/Certificate in Education. After which Shirley has specialised in: teaching learners with complex mental health needs using art as cognitive therapy to develop a positive mindset; plus teaching learners with special educational needs using art to build fine motor and problem solving skills, enhance communication and expression, plus to promote self-esteem and motivation to succeed.