BIOGRAPHY
Shelly McCoy was born in Stephenville, a seaside town in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1962. Having grown up in a small town by the ocean, she has a general love and respect for nature. Following her passion for art, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1986, majoring in Painting. Later she received her Master’s Degree in Art Education from Florida International University.
Her work in general is experimental in nature, ranging from mixed media relief to three-dimensional objects, comprised of a wide range of materials from the traditional color
pencils to the non-traditional. Shelly’s recent work uses fabric as a medium to emulate paint as in her portrait and landscape works. Exploring fabric through collage to create the illusion of a painting is an ongoing fascination for the Artist. McCoy yearns to deceive the eye as portrayed in the work “Every Garden can be the Garden of Eden (even for a Frolicking Dog).”
Shelly views the purpose of her work as twofold: it plays a cathartic role and is also a platform to express concerns and opinions about social issues.
Her award-winning work and installations have been exhibited in Canada and South Florida in galleries and public institutions.
Her work has been recognized through grants and scholarships from The Newfoundland-Labrador Arts Council, The Effie May Ross Scholarship, Halifax, Nova Scotia, The Government of Newfoundland Procurement Program and Ocean Bank Education Fund, Florida. She currently lives in South Florida and teaches Fine Art in Miami-Dade Public Schools.