Growing up summering on Cape Cod meant spending quality family time and boundless memories for emerging artist, Devon Cogan. For Harwich local, Cogan, capturing the sentiments accompanied by his jocund memories is the basis of his vivid artwork. 

From spending his summers in Chatham with his grandmother, to moving to Cape Cod after graduating from Providence College in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Cogan has developed a distinct fondness for the scenery of Cape Cod. 

Cogan has been drawn to various artistic mediums although he says, “I never took formal art training or classes.” With an innate ability to paint people, scenes, and objects, people would often approach Cogan and ask him to draw portraits, which led him down the path of realism. “I love painting buildings that have unique designs such as Holiday Hill Ice Cream, The Beachcomber, and Liam’s,” he says. He expresses his love for painting places that aren’t there anymore because they evoke nostalgic memories. 

Quickly gaining more and more support for his artwork, he opened an Etsy store (@DevonCoganDesigns), as well as displaying his projects on his Instagram page (@dcoganart). Typically, the majority of commission requests he receives comes from these two digital platforms, but his work has also been showcased in local art galleries and auctions. 

Using acrylic, pen, and ink Cogan says he depicts, “distorted nostalgic realism” within his artwork while incorporating anomalous color palettes. Gravitating toward a yellow, purple, pink, and blue color combination for scenes of the Cape makes his work stand out. Cogan explains, “I like using warm, unique colors that you don’t see that often in classic Cape Cod paintings.” 

By straying away from the standard palette of tans, greens, and blues to capture Cape Cod, Cogan feels that, “When you’re looking at it, and can recognize what it is—the building and the place—but there’s sort of elements to it that jog people’s memories; because people’s memories are usually more colorful than reality.” While continuing to work on commission pieces for his clients, Cogan remarks, “I like the idea of art being a hobby because I feel like it keeps it more authentic.” 

Cogan’s work can be seen on his Instagram page @dcoganart and purchased through his Etsy shop @DevonCoganDesigns.