As a young child, Shelley Lannan-Cote enjoyed creating weird drawings just to make her friends laugh. Drawing continued to be a reliable companion through awkward high school years and into adulthood. She later studied Visual Art at the University of California in San Diego, a conceptual education. After graduation, pivoting on her ability to draw, she taught herself to paint in acrylic and oil paints.

Some of the older works shown here are from a heavy-hearted time in her life before a painful divorce. She moved to beautiful Washington state in 2002 and continued experimenting with her painting techniques.  After an unapologetic 20 year pause to raise children, she has returned to art making with works intended to engage viewers with a lighter, more positive message.

Inspired by wanting to make a difference in the negativity of the world, prompted in large part by Covid lock-down doom scrolling, she decided to return to art that made her chuckle, elevated her mood, and focused on lightness.  Themes such as conformity, apathy and indecision are examined with a light-hearted approach.  Lannan-Cote believes that tackling serious subjects with a hint of absurdity produces the most enjoyable art-making sessions.  By inventing fictional characters and crafting enchanting visual stories, she demonstrates that art can be playful and mischievous without being dark.

Instagram: @shelleylannancote
Website: oddlycheerful.com