Scott Shellstrom

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 Ga...

BFA Northern Illinois University
Post Grad Film NYU