Debra Cook Shapiro is a San Francisco painter of figures and landscapes who has been pursuing her passion for art since she moved to California in 1984 from St. Louis, Mo. She studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute and Academy of Art College, the Istituto Lorenzo de Medici (Florence, Italy), Istituto per l'Arte e il Ristauro (Florence, Italy), the University of California, Berkeley Post-Baccalaureate in Painting (San Francisco, CA). Shapiro had solo exhibitions at the French Consul Residence, (San Francisco, CA), Ice House Gallery, (Petaluma, CA), and Summerhouse, (Mill Valley, CA). Her work has been selected in San Francisco group shows at Arc gallery, Palette gallery, Office of the California State Senator, Scott Weiner, Mirus Gallery and 111 Minna Gallery. Teravarna Gallery , Irvine , CA, exhibited Debra’s work in Superfine Art Fair, San Francisco, 2023, and THe LA Art Show 2024. Her work is in domestic and international collections. 

She had a residency in Healdsburg, CA at Chalk Hill Artist’s residency and in 2023 was awarded a scholarship for a residency in Venice, Italy, at the European Cultural Academy.

Teaching private lessons and workshops in her home studio, Debra continues the thread to her original career as a certified K-8 classroom instructor. She also coaches individual students online and accepts commissioned work. Shapiro has completed bespoke pieces for clients in the US, the UK and France.

She was included in the "Artists of the Bay Area" book published by Jen Tough Gallery in 2021. Her paintings have also been featured in the online exhibition, "Alchemy", by "Create Magazine” in April of 2023. Her artwork has been shortlisted for the “Emerging Artists Women Award” by Arts to Hearts Project and will be showcased in their upcoming Women Art Prize Virtual Exhibition following her interview for issue 2 of "Art to Hearts" magazine, and has her work featured in Studio Book #2. Her work appeared in a feature in “New Visionary Magazine”, Issue 7, 2023, and in “I Like Your Work” fall catalogue 2023. Women United Art Magazine, 2024.