How did you get into decorative arts and was it a career you saw for yourself early on?
As a girl I always loved pencil sketching and as I got older started painting. I never thought of art as a career, always a hobby. I remember comments growing up such as “starving artist”, “art isn’t a career, you can’t make money at it”, “only dead artist’s make money.” Later in life those comments would spur me on to prove them wrong.

I continued to paint and sketch for the enjoyment into my early thirties. In my twenties I worked in accounting jobs and later would start working with my father in his drywall business. He taught me many hand textures and that is where my love for textures began.

My situation in life changed and I needed to start working full-time. I wanted to do something I loved. After researching decorative finishing schools, I decided to attend Faux Effects International in Seattle, WA. I was determined to make a success of this business and incorporated Dry Creek Finishing, Inc. before attending. I also set up appointments with clients for after our return to view our new portfolio. In 2002 my father and I attended our first class together. In 2015 I renamed the business to Shiree Nichole Designer Finishes LLC. This year marks twenty years in the faux art industry.

I love learning about new products, techniques and the chemistry behind the product. There is nothing like on-the-job training and I am always learning something new. I am very grateful for the designer’s and decorator’s I work with. They all have different design approaches. I love the diversity of finishes I create and the collaboration that goes with it.

In 2006 I started painting abstract art, mainly oils on canvas. In 2017 I began abstract acrylic art on Lucite.

Over the years I have attended classes for decorative finishes, oil, watercolor and classes on prospective. I appreciate learning from so many different artists using different mediums.