"“Living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.”" - Elizabeth Gilbert

Shelly Collins is a visual artist based in Owasso, Oklahoma. Her creative journey began in the late 1990s, when she studied Advertising Design. Since then, she has worked on a wide range of artistic projects. Her work blends art and design and exists alongside her teaching career and her role as a mother to three teenagers.

 

Creativity is how Shelly shares herself with the world. For her, art is a mirror of life—reflecting its chaos, imperfections, and beauty. The core pillars of her artistic expression are authenticity, an understanding that failure is part of the creative process, and an appreciation for beauty in imperfection.

 

Her visual style is rooted in bold colors, shapes, patterns, and typography. She works with mixed media collage, painting, design, and murals. Shelly draws inspiration from both retro and modern design, as well as from the natural and urban environments around her. Her goal is to create compositions in which elements from different worlds—old and new, made and found, natural and urban, order and chaos—interact in a dynamic and balanced harmony.