First Communion. Limited Edition 1 of 20 Photograph

Scott Shellstrom’s paintings have hung in top galleries and museums across the country, but don’t let that fool you—he’s just as happy if his work ends up over your couch, making you smile every day. Before going full-time with the brush, Scott was a VP Creative on Madison Avenue, crafting campaigns that made brands famous and clients very, very happy. He’s always been obsessed with creating images that stop you in your tracks—whether it’s an ad on a Times Square billboard or oil on canvas. Armed with a BFA in Visual Communications from Northern Illinois University (plus minors in art history, photography, drawing, design, and painting—because why pick just one?), he started as an Art Director in Chicago, then moved to New York as a Creative Director for some of advertising’s top agencies. Nights and weekends were spent painting, leading to his first NYC exhibition in 1990 at Soho’s UOLO. A year later, his work appeared at the prestigious Gallery Henoch. Hollywood came calling, commissioning portraits for the likes of Burt Reynolds and John Larroquette. In 1996, Scott traded skyscrapers for surf, moving to Venice, California, where the Armand Hammer Museum featured him in its “Emerging Artists” show. Soon after, LACMA’s Sales Gallery hung his cheeky “Trash” series. Then came his “Venice: Where the City Meets the Sea” collection—paintings that captured the sunny beauty and gritty underbelly of beach life. Now based in Encinitas, CA, Scott paints coastal scenes and commissions that feel like a warm ocean breeze. For the first time ever, he’s making both original works and high-quality prints available to collectors everywhere. Want to talk art, surf, or the secret to painting sand that actually looks like sand? You can reach him here.