ORIGINAL HAND CREATED ART. DON'T BE AFRAID OF COLOR❣️

Fun Colors!

JUNE 2026

Shelley Aliaga

6/18/20262 min read

Whimsical painting of a yellow cat with a necklace in a pink landscape with flowers.

A lot has been changing. First of all, I have changed my name. I am no longer Shelley Overton, a name I have called myself for 29 years. Typing that, I almost typed 19 years. that tells you how long it has been, and how distorted we see time. Haha. It was time. My children are adults, and my daughter recently changed her own name, as she got married last year. So happy for her and my new son-in-law.

I have, also, been changing my means of income. I am not doing as much freelance graphic design, but still wide open for illustration. To make more money, I am working as a substitute teacher in Orange County, Florida. This helps me focus more on my illustrations. While reviewing how I want to present myself now, I am pursuing more brightly colored, and fluorescent paint colors. I am playing with layers of color, chalk pastel over the gouache bases. What I love about that is it blends smoothly, and gives an airbrushed feel to my art.

What I particularly love about the kitty painting above is the luminosity of the paws. Here is a full view of the painting:

I am still working on telling stories, or at least invoking more emotion when looking at my art. Color, as usual, is still very important to me. I am creating a more cohesive body of work, if only by creating collections. I am pretty excited for a new beginning. If you have any questions about my art journey, or individual pieces, you can contact me at email@shelleyaliaga.com