Chicago-based artist Shirley Yang Crutchfield knows firsthand the strength and resilience women hold. An entrepreneur and mother of two, she spent the first part of her professional career in tech as the founder and CEO of Muses App, a global entrepreneur and creators’ network. She signed the official papers to sell the business from the postpartum delivery bed when her first child was born.
“There was a lot of pressure to perform all my life, Yang Crutchfield says. “Either you want to prove that you can do it for yourself, or you want to prove it to the world. I did a lot of that.” Shortly after, COVID-19 took hold, the world shifted, and Yang Crutchfield had time to reflect. She rejoined the tech world for another company and welcomed her second child.
“I remembered telling [the company] that I was tired, I am going to step away now,” she recalls. “I was in the suburbs. I had this huge identity shift. I wasn’t working for the first time in two decades, and I thought ‘Who am I?’ I told a therapist that I don’t feel valuable.”
Yang Crutchfield decided to take the time to figure out the answer to that question. She thought back to the young version of herself that deeply loved art and was constantly drawing, painting, and creating.
“I had the opportunity to join other ventures and other companies, and I almost jumped back in,” she says. “This time I wanted to invest in myself … I wanted to explore what my worth is and what my value is; otherwise, I would always be chasing something. I owed it to myself to give back to that little girl that always loved art.”
In 2023, she took the creative leap. The result has been the creation of powerful, gold-leafed work that celebrates women in all fields. Yang Crutchfield uses the traditional 14th century Italian water gilding technique known as “doratura a guazzo.” The result is a combination of historical practices with a modern take on painterly portraiture. Her work is on display at Sun Valley Contemporary Gallery in Ketchum.
A 20 in. by 20 in. image of German astronomer Caroline Herschel—who discovered several notable comets and was the first woman paid for her contributions to astronomy—is depicted looking through a telescope surrounded by ornate 24K gold leaf etched with constellations. “If you look at the background, it is all celestial elements that are hand carved on wood,” she says.
“Caroline is a woman who got snubbed by a man and her brother, William Hershel, who is more famous,” she says. “I wanted to put her front and center.”
A selection of her work also gives a nod to the intricacies and power of fashion, as well. “Rose Gold,” a 12 in. by 12 in. oil with 24K gold on wood panel, shows delicate hand-woven details of the dress, playing on the theme of handiwork meets hard work and the beauty it creates.
At first glance, Yang Crutchfield’s paintings are dazzling and, no doubt, captivating to the viewer. But behind the intricate design and portrait work of the subjects is a process that takes immense skill, grit, and resilience.
“They look beautiful and glamorous but underneath it took blood, sweat, and tears,” she says. “I literally bleed because I use a gilding knife.” The work behind each piece is a constant metaphor to each subject: There is more than meets the eye.
Yang Crutchfield’s art is rooted in Renaissance artistic practices like water gilding (a traditional method for applying gold leaf), “pastiglia” (Italian technique to create ornamentation using layered gesso, among other things), and “sgraffito” (the art of adding decorative elements by scratching through a layer to reveal another layer).
“Basically, you gild the background first, then you use paint on top and scratch off the paint to reveal the gold underneath,” she explains. The gold leaf she uses is imported from Italy and she learned from gilding masters around the world to hone her artistic craft. The process has taken a lot of testing and learning. “I practiced, practiced, practiced,” she says. “I am a super charger when it comes to what I want to do.”
Her artistic influences are both Byzantine and Baroque art, as well as contemporary aesthetics, combined with fashion and strong female figures.
“When I was 10, my parents took me to Versailles, and everything is gilded there,” she says. “I fell in love with details. Gustav Klimt’s work really speaks to me, and the Renaissance Era really speaks to me. It was such a culturally rich evolution. I also love craftsmanship and hard work. Working with my hands is something an A.I. cannot do; they can’t gild. It is made by human’s blood, sweat and tears.”
Her biggest influence, however, is her subjects and women as a collective.
“My message is to all the women who are working hard, doing you—I see you,” Yang Crutchfield continues. “I want people to feel seen; I want ladies to see my paintings and make it a reflection: You have done so much. No more performing. You don’t need to perform to sit with the power within you, you are enough.”
While she has typically captured women in history and culture, Yang Crutchfield plans to focus forthcoming portraits on contemporary heroines she knows: nonprofit leaders, women’s health professionals, teachers, and the like. Maybe they aren’t traditionally famous, but their impact is real, she explains.