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 and is an avid collector of Newfoundland beach rocks, which are depicted in some of her drawings and mixed media works.
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 pieces to three-dimensional objects comprised of a wide range of materials from the traditional color pencils to the non-traditional asphalt as in her most recent work. Shelly’s interest in construction and remodeling has influenced her choice of materials in her art. Industrial supplies such as rubber carpet glue, tar, cement, thin-set, roofing shingles, resin, grout, wax, ceramic tile, and spray insulation have been used in her work over the years. Using and placing these materials and objects out of context has always been an on-going curiosity and fascination for the artist.
Art has not just had the role of being cathartic, but Shelly also views it as a platform to express concerns and opinions on social issues.
