Cynthia Peterson
Early Influences:
There is not a time that I do not remember drawing. As a child I loved looking at pictures and drawing pictures. My father, a photographer, and my mother, a 1st grade teacher, noticed and encouraged my drawing from an early age and gave me pencils, paper and later on, paints and brushes. That kept me occupied during several trips our family took as a result of my dadʼs nature & wildlife photography.
 I was lucky as a child to travel throughout the Southwest, Canada, Mexico & Baja California. I began serious study in art as a college student at Glendale Community College. I had great teachers, who introduced me to old master techniques of egg tempera and oil glazing. During a brief residence in Austria, I encountered more on egg tempera in a workshop with Wolfgang Männer and Ernst Fuchs. I received my BFA degree from Northern Az University where I focused in both painting and graphic design. Later on, as a graduate student at Arizona State University, I began specializing in water media while continuing practice in old master techniques. After receiving my Master of Fine Arts degree, I returned to Glendale, this time as a teacher.
Currently I am Adjunct Faculty in Painting / Drawing with Mesa Community College. I have enjoyed additional teaching assignments at ASU in drawing and painting. Lately a desire to branch out has led me to teach at different art venues. In the past few years I have been teaching classes and workshops at Shemer Art Center, BRIO Fine Arts Center and Scottsdale Artistsʼ School. I continue to offer demos, workshops and seminars for community arts organizations.
Artist Statement
One of my early contacts with art when young was looking at reproductions of Baroque paintings. Painters such as Willem Kalf, Zubarón, and Cotan continue to influence my work, as well as more contemporary still life and figurative artists. I was fascinated with the way these painters carefully rendered the effects of light upon reflective surfaces. Throughout my art studies, I have felt compelled to explore light and color in combination with these surfaces.
As an artist, I have an affinity for representational imagery. I look to both traditional and contemporary interpretations of realistic styles. Years of study and work in design have had a definite impact and modernist influences can be seen in my work. While the end result may be realist images, the conceptual process is occupied with more formalist concerns of visual structure: shape, space, figure/field, pattern, value and color. The main focus of my work consists of still-life arrangements designed around my interest in light, reflective and refractive surfaces, and color.
Light and color appeal to me for their dramatic and psychological potential. Metallic, glass, and other intriguing surfaces are used to exploit these qualities. Such surfaces are intriguing also for the way in which reflected shapes are distorted, leading to wonderful abstract passages. In order to portray these reflective and refractive surfaces, I work with a variety of refractive media and methods, such as watercolor and/or oil glazes. This allows for greater color luminosity in the illusion of transparent, translucent or reflective surfaces. I am increasingly interested in the play of space within the image. The angles and views chosen vary; often I choose to look at objects from above or a very close, macro viewpoint. I may introduce a landscape or figurative element as way of pushing depth of field and content. Or, alternatively, I may create an intentionally ambiguous spatial environment for the objects. I invite you to explore the world of light & shadow, near and far, real and design within the art.
Latest News
Featured Art
2009 Aug - Signed on as an instructor for art classes now offered at the new AZ Art Supply location in Phoenix.
2009 July - Watercolor demo at Phx Art Museum
Inspiration
“It is supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great”
One of my early contacts with art when young was looking at reproductions of Baroque paintings. Painters such as Willem Kalf, Zubarón, and Cotan continue to influence my work, as well as more contemporary still life and figurative artists. I was fascinated with the way these painters carefully rendered the effects of light upon reflective surfaces. Throughout my art studies, I have felt compelled to explore light and color in combination with these surfaces.
visit my website www.CynthiaPeterson.com
(e) cynthia@cynthiapetersonfineart.com
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