ARTISTIC TRANSITION TO MUSIC – Yukon visual artist Shirly Ambrose has waited over forty years to write songs, and for the past three years, the music has finally taken her over into another dimension.

Ambrose is known locally for her portraits, wildlife photography and mixed media work. She discovered her creative side when she was growing up in the wilderness down the west arm of Bennett Lake.  

“My music is dominating my painting right now and it demands to finally have its day,” said Ambrose.  

"I had an obsession with music when I was young that exceeded that of most people, and it seems like it has all come full-circle for me.”  

Ambrose has nearly finished writing over forty songs, and fully produced fifteen vocal tracks and eighteen alternative instrumentals. She enjoys painting her own scenic cover art and doing all graphics involved.  

She has partially produced her music in collaboration with a mastermind in Ireland who knows the technical side of music and also is incredibly intuitive.

The duo works well.

  “I always had music deep down, but it could never quite surface creatively until my forties when something shifted profoundly within me,” said Ambrose.  

“Songs come to me now, almost like automatic writing on the wall," said Ambrose. “I feel compelled to sing, although it forces me out of my comfort zone.”  

Ambrose reached an international audience in the first day of releasing her first album, having been contacted by a Colorado station an hour later although radio airplay was never her aim. They immediately took her entire album for streaming and since then, she has won over fifty various awards on two American charts, including Trending Album and Trending Artist.  

Every song on that album has reached number one in her first months of airplay, including with the International Songwriters Association. Her music has played on the radio in New Zealand, England, Russia, Greece, Quebec, and local CJUC 92.5FM Whitehorse Community Radio.  

Shining reviews have even come in from Europe, and her music has been inside and on the cover of Jamsphere magazine with a half-million subscribers.  

Her second album is being released this month with her Yukon song "Sunlight At Midnight" and locally, her CDs can be found at several places, including Mac’s Fireweed Books.  

Ambrose is an independent artist who has never applied for any subsidies or grants for her works.  

Her artwork also can be accessed through her main music site, and all her music can be purchased digitally at https://ambrose1.bandcamp.com/