Biography
Cory grew up in a working class neighbouhood 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 charaterized by unsupervised adventures and the freedom of a ‘be home by supper’ mentality that was 1980s parenting. 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 around Victoria to the perplexity of those around him.