Shelby K Cook

Shelby K Cook is a Seattle-based artist with a BFA from Western Washington University in Fine Arts and Painting and a BA in Art History. She uses contemporary realism to explore aspects of life.

She says, “Focussed on painting as a way to retain memories of a place or feeling, I draw inspiration from my travels and experiences. A connection to nature stemming from my childhood love of forests means I seek interesting environments to inspire me, often painting en plein air in order to get a better sense of a place. Letting nostalgia combine with the depicted landscape creates a way to tangibly capture my memories; interested not only in reproducing the physical scene I am painting, I allow my recollections of a place to alter the images I create, attempting to relive the moment itself through art.”

When not painting larger pieces in her studio, Shelby takes her portable easel to paint en plein air in the different countries and locations she visits, then uses these experiences to influence the rest of her art.

About her paintings of interiors, she says, “I am interested in capturing liminal spaces and transitional moments, the ones that don’t seem super important but still contribute to what makes a person who they are. Once again, nostalgia plays a large role, and I often turn to depicting my memories or older photos of myself taken by people I loved as a way of exploring my past and the relationships that make me who I am.”