A local artist is making some waves internationally thanks to the power of social media.

Kimberley Cook has been painting for three decades and has called Airdrie home for the past seven years after migrating from Calgary like many others.

Cook wasn't trained as an artist. She worked as an architectural drafts person for 13 years before quitting in the late 80's to pursue art, something many people thought she was crazy to do.

"When you have the heart of an artist it's hard to concentrate on working for other people," she says. "And although I loved working on drawings for homes and commercial spaces and hospitals, I knew that I had to quit and pursue my dream. You have to do what makes you happy."

Happy is one of many emotions Cook felt recently when she received an email from a curator with British Vogue about featuring her artwork in three of their upcoming issues.

Normally, Cook would be in 7-10 art shows in Calgary every year with her art group The Riverview Artists. Like many other things, art shows ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cook continued to paint and update her website and social media. That's how the magazine found her work.

"I'm kind of newer to social media so I wasn't sure if anything I was doing was working because I'm learning about it, I'm trying new things and I guess it worked."

She says she was surprised to hear from British Vogue and at first thought it might not be real. After confirming it was legit, to say Cook was excited is an understatement.

"That's what we're all trying to do as artists is get exposure," she says. "And it can be hard enough to do it locally or even in the City of Calgary never mind in Canada or internationally so it is quite exciting."

Some of Cook's pieces from her “White Peony Series” will be featured in the November, December, and January editions of British Vogue's 'Vogue Gallery' print magazine and their digital showcase 'Vogue Retail'.

In the meantime, she will continue working on pieces for future art shows in preparation for when things can start to return to some form of normalcy.

You can learn more about Cook and see more of her work via her website HERE.