<\/p>\n
Painter Chris Cook hopes to make the world a more beautiful place with his pastels \u2013 and now they\u2019re gracing the walls of the Mancos Public Library.<\/p>\n
Cook, an artist based in Farmington, focuses largely on landscapes in his work. He hopes that viewers will come away with an enjoyment of art, and perhaps that his paintings will inspire a younger generation to pursue artistic endeavors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just always in awe of the beauty of nature, and it\u2019s all around us,\u201d Cook said. \u201cJust seems like every time I turn around there\u2019s something else beautiful to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n
His affinity for landscape artwork was influenced by his family\u2019s relocation from Chicago to Bluff, Utah, at the age of 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a 9-year-old, that was great because it was just like being turned loose,\u201d Cook said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been drawn to art since his youth, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been involved in art to one degree or another all my life,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the time I was just a little kid, 4 or 5 years old, I\u2019ve always liked art and people have noticed what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a two-year tour with the U.S. Marines, Cook earned a degree in business administration, and began to draw once more. After trying out a set of pastels in 2000, he immediately leapt onto the medium, and that has been his style of choice ever since.<\/p>\n
He moved to Farmington about four years ago, and has been painting full time there ever since. His studio is called Artifact\u2019s Gallery.<\/p>\n
The exhibit has been up at the Mancos library since the end of October, and it will remain up through mid-November or early December.<\/p>\n