Check Out Shelby Cox’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Cox. 

Hi Shelby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My art journey started when I was in second grade. I won first prize at the American Royal for my painting of a horse. From that moment, I fell in love with all thing’s art, but it was never something I wanted to turn into a career. I always thought that if I pursued it because of money, I would lose interest and my love for it would disappear. In 2018 I was invited to my first paint and sip. I attended two others after that and decided I wanted to host my own events. I wanted to teach others to paint! I decided to do it, not because of the money, but because I saw how happy it made others! I taught my first paint and sip in November of 2019, right before the pandemic. During quarantine, parties were halted but that didn’t stop me! I worked on commissioned artwork the entire year. I also created painting kits for beginning artists or those who just wanted to have a little fun while they were cooped up at home. As things are starting to get back to normal, I am hosting more paint parties on top of my other projects. ArtifyKC is going to be much bigger than just my artwork. I have big dreams for my new company, and I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Of course not! The saying “nothing worth fighting for comes easy,” is true, and “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,” is a lie! The work is well worth it in the end, but it’s non-stop. There’s so much I have left to learn about owning a business. Every day presents challenges that keep me on my toes, but it also teaches me so many new things. Whether it’s new painting techniques, financial planning, laws, taxes, etc. I love every moment of it. The dream is to have my own studio. A place I can host private lessons, paint parties every night of the week, and a place to work on whatever my heart desires. All the obstacles and challenges are going to pay off and I absolutely cannot wait to look back and admire how far my hard work pushed me! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in custom paintings, paint and sip parties, and henna. I am most proud of how far I have come in the past two years. I am a self-taught artist. I taught myself to do henna, I taught myself to paint and I taught myself to consistently push past my comfort zone and to just put myself out there! I have social anxiety and I’ve learned how to push past that to help teach others! Most importantly I’m proud of myself for being dedicated to having a dream and working to make it a reality. No one is perfect and I have a long way to go but I am doing it, I am going for it and I’m enjoying myself along the way. 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I would say the characteristics that are the most important to my success would be my creativity and perseverance. Although I am still working to perfect my “style,” my ability to create a picture using what I see in the world around me is very important. The perseverance to keep striving to be the best me and the best business owner I can be each day, regardless of life’s many obstacles, is also very important. It’s easy to let setbacks get you down but having the drive to persevere in the face of hardships is what gets a person ahead. 

Contact Info:

• Email: Artifykc@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.artifykc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/