Born in Arizona and raised in Duncan, a small farming and ranching community on the New Mexico border, Cox vowed at the age of five he "was gonna be a cowboy artist" when he grew up, a goal pursued with unwavering determination and a penchant for absolute accuracy. "If I don't know my subject, I don't paint it...I just cannot do impressionistic paintings, although I've been told by some successful artists to do so: 'Loosen up. Forget the details of ropes and spurs; use more splash-dash, make bold strokes!' Thank you, no."

Although his evident skill was recognized early on and he was encouraged in his painting, Cox suspected that most art schools and colleges would not support his highly realistic approach. Instead, he studied formal drawing with William Whitaker at Brigham Young University and sought out cowboy artists he admired who provided sound advice and reinforced his principles regarding elements of design, composition and the importance of light.

Painting professionally since 1975, Cox works at his easel at least ten hours each day, seven days a week, producing no more than fourteen meticulous oil paintings each year, all of which he has sold. Living with his wife Suzie, a former rodeo champion, and their two children in the remote ranching unity of Eagle Creek, Arizona since 1978, where mail comes just one each week and the nearest telephone, electrical pole or grocery store is an hour and a half away, Cox is completely engrossed in the life he documents on canvas.