Sam Shelby was born in 1961, and raised in North Carolina and Virginia. At an early age, Mr. Shelby’s interest in art was sparked by his aunt, a painter and teacher and her exploration in such various techniques as, sumi painting, oil and watercolor painting, charcoal and pastel drawing, egg tempera, pottery and ceramics, and papermaking.​

While he was in high school he took courses in art and graphic design.  After receiving his Associate Degree in Commercial Art from Halifax Community College in 1983 he began to pursue his own course of study in art and started painting full time in 1986. Mr. Shelby has had work on display at places as The Progress Energy Center in Raleigh, The Imperial Center of Arts and Sciences and Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, the Blount-Bridgers House in Tarboro and the School of Law at Duke University. He currently resides in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.