Shani Wray Jenkins
SHANI IS A British contemporary still life painter, exploring the ‘Poetry of Ordinary Things'
Shani's work is inspired by both the extraordinary and the everyday—the quiet beauty of familiar objects, places, and moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Shani wants her paintings to invite people to pause, to feel, and to reconnect with the beauty of the present moment—because, more often than not, it’s right there, in front of us.
Born in Yorkshire into a large, creative family, Shani moved to the open landscapes of Lincolnshire 25 years ago. Although her professional career spanned more than 30 years in international fashion and interior design, it was in 2020 that she returned to painting, discovering a deeply personal new chapter in her creative life.
Initially working in a realistic style with portraits and landscapes, Shani soon embraced a more intuitive and experimental approach, drawing on the same spirit of innovation that had shaped her design career. Rather than looking to distant places for inspiration, she found beauty in the quiet poetry of everyday life, often beginning with simple objects on her kitchen table.
Working primarily in acrylic, Shani creates contemporary still life and floral paintings with vibrant brushwork and richly layered surfaces.
Incorporating collage, oil pastels and charcoal, her work explores texture, atmosphere and emotion, transforming ordinary subjects into expressive, contemporary compositions.