The Artist
Shirley Tate is a southern California based emerging artist who just received her BFA in Drawing & Painting from Laguna College of Art & Design in 2026. Originally from Utah, Shirley received her Associates in Visual Arts from Utah Valley University in 2013.
Shirley Tate was born 1992 and grew up in in Logan, Utah, but she has been in southern California since 2015. Growing up She loved creating things, and capturing things around her through drawing. She also developed a deep love for abstract art as she doodled designs on the edges of her notebooks. It was her love for these “doodles” that inspired her to pursue being an artist.
2022 was pivotal year for her as it was the year she decided to leave the mormonism. Her journey out of mormonism, and deconstructing the life and mental conditioning that had been prescribed for her has been a big theme in the art she has been creating. Shirley has three beautiful children that keep her life busy but fun.
Artist Statement
When I sit down to create, it stems from a place of wanting to connect. There are so many limits placed on us as humans that prevent us from being able to be authentic with each other. My art is an act of vulnerability for me to show up with the purest form of myself and hopefully reach through the art piece to an inner more guarded part of the viewer. Through the act of creating I hope to validate the part of me that has felt lonely and hopefully help others feel a little less alone in this world as well. I enjoy using a variety of mediums to express the concepts that I wish to convey. The medium I pick is a deliberate choice of what I feel supports the content of the piece best.
