COUNTRY ARTISTRY
WESTERNS IN WOOD SHELLY J COX’S ARTWORK ON COWBOY CANVAS Written by: Ava Grace
the country taking photographs and selecting their favorites. Vandermeulen then searches for reclaimed wood, while Cox ponders how to bring the photo to canvas. With Greg’s canvas on Shelly’s easel, the magic begins. “Once a photo is selected, I think how to approach it, as I do not like to copy the photo. Instead, I want to turn it into an original work of art,” Cox explains. Cox sometimes clusters photos to create a composition in her head. But even with all the pre-planning, she often ends up surprised. This happened with On the Run. “I let my creativity take over, and it became one of my best,” says Cox.
H
er work Loaded is three muddied cowboys kicking back and cleaning guns, On the Run, a couple of cowboys on horseback making their way through a river, and Moon Bow, a solitary Indian woman—each wonderful examples of Shelly J Cox’s amazing artwork. They are oil paint on reclaimed wood that husband Greg Vandermeulen has created as her canvas. Shelly also has a popular YouTube channel to demonstrate her process, to talk about other works submitted for her evaluation. The artistic process starts as Shelly and Greg, married 29 years, travel
Greg Vandermeulen on a discovery: “I first found out that my wife could draw when we were dating. We were at a restaurant, and Shelly took their crayons and sketched her girlfriend—who was sitting across from us—right on the paper tablecloth. I was totally wowed.” Greg had honed his woodworking skills in a cabinetmaker’s shop before becoming a firefighter/paramedic. He became interested in unique wood furniture, so he began working in the garage, where he built pieces for their home. Their talents joined unexpectedly. “About a year ago, I was in an Arizona art gallery. It suddenly struck me that I had never seen western art mixed with interestingly shaped wood or art painted on a piece of furniture,” says Vandermeulen. He approached his wife about incorporating her portrait/ figurative paintings into the western art genre. “She said yes and now we have a house full of western art,” says
Top: Greg and Shelly travel the country capturing images that can be used for their artwork. Bottom: The couple visit where realism can be gathered as reference.
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PHOTOS ON THIS AND OPPOSITE PAGE COURTESY OF SHELLY J COX
Cox lately has kept her colors muted and earth toned … but will throw in pops of color. “I especially enjoy painting cowboys, cowgirls, horses and landscapes for backgrounds,” she says.
