Radene Marie Cook

Visit Artist Website

Radene Marie Cook is a native of California, where she currently lives with her husband Doug, her and a big Akita service dog named "Scuda-Bearz." She used to joke with friends that her life experiences and interests made her "walk in two worlds;" Her life since 2000 has supported that theory in more ways than one. Before an aircraft accident in 2000, Radene was an award-winning airborne news and traffic reporter in Los Angeles. Before that, her career included 15 years in radio as an on-air personality, a working stage actress, a multi-genre' singer and dancer. Radene also has a mixed American Indian heritage (Cherokee, Choctaw and Maya) that also influences her work. The aircraft accident in 2000 changed life dramatically. A strong sense of humor, her simple Christian spirituality and the great love and support from her family and friends carried her through the devastation of her physical condition. She was bed bound and close to death. The key to Radene’s recovery came in 2005 when a specialist in intractable pain gave her a pain management regimen that was unique but tremendously effective for her conditions. In a few years of having proper treatment, she could –from home – LIVE a "real" life again outside of bed! After a few more years, she could run her own business, now “PainArtist.com,” which includes the micro-botany picture technique she invented, the multi-media art she creates that you'll see here PLUS a new line launched in 2020 called "Phoenix Rising products" (See that gallery here and read the origin story in the attached blog) . She calls all of her her work “Storytelling on canvas” (now on her functional sculpture pieces as well) where each piece has a narrative. She and Doug are outspoken advocates for pain awareness issues. Radene is currently a California State Ambassador for the US Pain Foundation https://www.uspainfoundation.org/; she is also participant for “The INvisible Project” http://www.invisibleproject.org/www/participants/ -- a look into the unseen lives of people with chronic or intractable pain.