The Painted heART Studio

Shirley Manan began oil painting at the age of 7, taking private lessons from world-renowned artist Bruni Sablan, creator of the Jazz Master Series by BRUNI.

Her father had passed when she was 3 years old and she found her greatest joy and healing through art.  Her passion for painting continued over the years as she received a B.S. in Marketing and a Studio Art Minor at Santa Clara University. Her paintings are mostly oil or acrylic on canvas and her creative work consists of bright landscape scenes or still life with vibrant colors.

 

She is a self-taught studio artist and spent most of her career as a Sales & Marketing Executive in the travel industry (Southwest Airlines, Mosaic Marketing Insights, LLC and Hawaiian Airlines). Her many travels around the world have inspired most of her paintings. In 2009 she traveled to Lake Como, Italy, and took a workshop on French Impressionism at Fresia Studios.  She instantly fell in love with both plein air painting and French Impressionism.   

 

In 2010 she met talented studio artist Constantine Abramson and learned how to paint with watercolors.  Since then, she has assisted him with 8 large murals and painted a few on her own. One of the most rewarding murals she assisted him with is a jungle-themed mural for the San Francisco Ronald McDonald House Children’s Playroom.  In 2015 she was asked to create a painting for a "San Francisco themed" bedroom at the new SF Ronald McDonald House at Mission Bay (inside the UCSF Marc Benioff Children's Hospital).

 

She enjoys working with kids and has previously taught in an after-school art program called Young Rembrandts. She began the Painted heART Studio in 2016 and currently teaches special corporate events (employee and client appreciations) and private art lessons to families and children. Through Kara (a grief non-profit in Palo Alto, CA) she has accomplished her dream of helping children heal through a special virtual art workshop and at Camp Kara 2021 (formerly Camp Erin).  In Dec. 2021, she was honored to teach a special San Francisco 49ers 75th Anniversary painting event at Levi Stadium (for the Women of the Niners). 

 

She enjoys returning to to Lake Como, Italy to continue her study of Claude Monet's painting method at Fresia Studios. She looks forward to continuing her life long study of painting and is currently working on a unique travel series of the Hawaiian Islands. Her passion for marketing and sales allows her to work on creative projects as a consultant (www.shirleymconsulting.com). She currently resides in Dublin, CA but can also be found traveling with a canvas and easel, chasing the sun.