Shelly Cook

Born in Reading but with family roots in Cornwall I finally felt I was coming ‘home’ when I moved here in 1995. Cornwall’s rugged industrial landscapes, beautiful coastlines and rich mineral heritage have driven me creatively for all these years, however, it was only after a succession of untimely bereavements and changes in my life, that I picked up a paintbrush, discovering a positive way to process my grief. I have painted prolifically since, producing a large body of highly personal work connecting my love of the natural world and human emotion, with a focus on texture and the transformations of age and decay.

My paintings are inspired by the texture and details of life around me, the broken, lost and forgotten, the rusting object, bark of a tree, striations of rock, wrinkles of skin. I am constantly aware of the passing of time and the transformation that age brings.

My work has been exhibited locally and online over the years and have recently been a contributing artist in the book ‘Women Inspiring Quotes and Artistic Responses’. Some of my paintings are also featured in the Edition 3 of ‘The FLUX Review’ art, culture and world exploration magazine.

Like my inspirations, my paintings are not always perfectly finished, they are heavily textured and organic. I paint the edges of the canvas, and varnish them in matt varnish where it allows and sign the back rather than the front so it can be hung however the client feels it should be.