Shirra Benson is a painter based in Owen Sound, Ontario. She is a graduate of Georgian College’s Fine Arts program and has developed a painting practice deeply rooted in her emotional connection to the natural world. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the Niagara Escarpment, the Bruce Trail, and the ever-changing moods of Georgian Bay, Shirra finds creative fuel in time spent outdoors.
Her work explores a range of techniques, including impasto, wet-on-wet, and gestural brushwork, often using thick layers of oil paint to evoke the movement and energy of the landscape. Driven by a deep reverence for the earth, Shirra’s paintings aim to honour the spirit of place and the quiet strength found in nature.
