Artist Statement

Cory Scott is a contemporary painter born in 1978 in Brandon, Manitoba, now residing and working in Victoria, Canada. His work is inspired by his formative years growing up in a historic working-class neighbourhood, where he gleefully explored and dreamed up fanciful stories of the rusting and abandoned structures around him.

Today, Cory’s urban-obsessed paintings seek to convey that same childhood sense of wonder to his viewers by examining how people witness, perceive, and value the built environment surrounding them. Starting with photos of forgotten and neglected corners of city life, Cory uses colourful acrylics, unique perspectives, and excruciating detail to produce stylized, dream-like images that elevate common city scenery into true works of art. His paintings often provide subtle social commentary by juxtaposing themes of poverty, despair, and decay with aspiration, adventure, and nostalgia. Ultimately, Cory seeks to tell an imagined story of place that encourages the viewer to see something magical in the mundane, and to reflect back to the viewer the subjective manner in which we perceive and assign beauty in our cities’ most forgotten corners.

Biography

Cory grew up in a working class neighbourhood of Brandon, Manitoba, nestled on the edge of downtown between half a dozen railway tracks and the Assiniboine River. His urban upbringing and passion for exploring quickly inspired a love for the light industrial warehouses and abandoned spaces which surrounded his home. His childhood was best characterized by unsupervised adventures and the freedom of a ‘be home by supper’ mentality that was the 1980s. When he was stuck inside, Cory’s favourite memory always draws back to laying on the floor in his dining room, sunbeams pouring in through the window, sketching away and lost in his world of art.

As a teenager Cory moved to Victoria BC and spent most of the next 20 years focusing on education and extensive world travel. While his sketching came to a virtual halt, his education in art continued as he took photos of his travels and visited some of the world’s finest art galleries.

By 2015, Cory was living in Sydney, Australia, exploring and photographing its unique beauty at every opportunity. But when his partner offered him a starter set of acrylics as a hobby to help decompress from his high-stress job, his life immediately changed. Cory and painting went together like peas and carrots, and he hasn’t stopped painting since.

In 2017, Cory returned to Victoria and now paints out of his studio in North Jubilee. His paintings continue to be inspired by the urban decay, gritty alleyways, broken concrete, and abandoned spaces that characterized his childhood experiences. When he’s not planning his next world adventure, you can find Cory cycling in Oak Bay, reading history on his couch, or taking reference photos of drab urban spaces to the perplexity of those around him.

Podcast

Documentary

Membership

Federation of Canadian Artists, Active Member, joined 2020.

Awards

2nd Place, Lean On Me. Federation of Canadian Artists, “2025 Calendar Exhibition and Competition,” (2025).

Honourable Mention, Nature of Things. Victoria Arts Council, “Art Victoria NOW,” (2024).

2nd Place, Lamp-Eyed Lovers. Federation of Canadian Artists, “Chapter Challenge,” (2022).

Honourable Mention, The Repair Shop. Federation of Canadian Artists, “Victoria Chapter: A Slice of Life,” (2020).

Award of Excellence, The Departed. Sooke Fine Arts Show (2020).

People's Choice Award, From the Mean Streets of Fernwood. Victoria Arts Council LOOK Show (2019).

Solo Exhibitions (Selected)

Staying Creative Gallery, “Imagine,” Brentwood Bay BC (2022).

Fernwood Inn, “Urban Escapism,” Victoria BC (2020).

Group Exhibitions (Selected)

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, “Art Gallery Paint-In,” Victoria BC (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025).

Sooke Fine Arts Society, “Sooke Fine Arts Show,” Sooke BC (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025).

Society of Canadian Artists, “International Open Juried Online Exhibition,” Online (2020, 2025).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “2025 Calendar Exhibition and Competition,” Online (2025).

National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society, “NOAPS Fall International Online Exhibition,” Online (2024).

Victoria Arts Council, “Art Victoria NOW,” Victoria BC (2024).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “Chapter Challenge,” Online (2022).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “On the Edge,” Online (2022).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “Victoria Chapter: Fresh Start,” Victoria BC (2022).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “AIMAE: Annual International Mail-In Art Exhibition,” Vancouver BC (2021).

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, “Winter Small Works Show,” Victoria BC (2021).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “Victoria Chapter: Somewhere in Time,” (2021).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “Victoria Chapter: A Slice of Life,” Online (2020).

Victoria Arts Council, “Summer Group Show and Sale,” Victoria BC (2020).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “365 Calendar Project,” Online (2020).

Federation of Canadian Artists, “Victoria: Looking In, Looking Out,” Online (2020).

ArtSea Community Arts Council, “Sidney Fine Arts Show and Sale,” Sidney BC (2019).

Victoria Arts Council, "Art in the Alley 2019," Victoria BC (2019).

Victoria Arts Council, "LOOK Show 2019," Victoria BC (2019).

Fortune Gallery, "Winter Small Works" Show, Victoria BC (2018).