Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Lee.
Cynthia, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My childhood roots are in both New England and the Midwest. We moved from Connecticut to a small town in western Illinois with my father’s job transfer. We went back east every year for summer vacations, and I learned to appreciate differences in geographic terrain and urban/rural lifestyles. At age ten I spent an entire summer in Mexico City which instilled a deep love for other cultures.
Growing up, I never thought I could be an artist. I certainly felt a strong pull to the visual arts but couldn’t draw well and received no encouragement from my art teachers. I turned my attention to my left brain, with side trips through music (seven years of voice lessons and many performances) and drama (leads in school plays). I longed for more adventures and was thrilled to attend college in Chicago. I was—and am—drawn to the energy and cultural diversity of city life! I lived for over two decades in an apartment on Burling Street, just south of Armitage. I earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, and worked in two state departments, an academic think tank, and three marketing firms.
My husband and I moved to a nearby suburb in 1987 with our three young sons. I volunteered as a member of the corporate board of a Chicago medical center, and as a member of our local school board. I missed the city and returned often for an “adrenalin fix.” During those years I couldn’t escape a pull toward the creative arts—I just didn’t know which one! In 2001, after some success as a poet and playwright, I took my first mixed media art class and found my creative home. Since then I’ve worked full time as a professional artist. While I am self-taught, I’ve taken many workshops and Master Classes from superb artists who helped me to develop my skills. Today, I continue to sing in the studio, write poetry, and paint abstracts in oil mixed with cold wax. My art has been juried into numerous gallery exhibits across the Chicago region and in Santa Fe. And I’m honored to have my art featured in a few publications.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I work primarily in oil mixed with cold wax and other media. (Cold wax differs from encaustic since the process involves no heat. The surface hardens as it dries to a soft sheen.) I combine equal parts of oil paint and cold wax and then apply thin layers to a wood panel using silicone scrapers and palette knives. I am able to scrape or carve into the layers and add organic materials (marble dust, charcoal, sand, mica flakes) to achieve rich textures. I love dramatic colors, unusual shapes, and lots of quirky lines to suggest text. I often write poems to help me uncover the emotional truth I’m exploring in a painting or series. Once I find it, I can forget my left brain and just paint!
My paintings are abstract and often conceptual. Something captures my attention, and a painting or poem becomes the pathway for me to understand what, specifically, is resonating, why, and why at this time? Currently, I am fascinated by moments of transition. There is a pause in the movement between one place or point in time and another. I often think of it as the rhythm of a conductor’s baton, between the upbeat and the downbeat. Inside this “space between” I explore the layered meanings of a profound experience in nature, a state of mind, or a political/cultural phenomenon. I find inspiration in nature, music, my own emotional landscape, science, the news. I love rhythm, motion, energy, wave frequencies. I am drawn to patterns and boundaries which seem to dissolve or re-emerge. Most of all, I am intrigued by the fact that all life is in motion and connected at an atomic level. There is something about our essential connectedness which I want to better understand.
An artist is a medium, a conduit to express the underlying dynamics of a culture. I hope that my art resonates with a viewer and creates a deeper understanding of some truth I’ve tried to express. Ideally, art reinforces a sense of our shared humanity. If my painting leads to a moment of connection with another soul, I am richly rewarded.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
While we do our creative work alone, there are ways for artists to network which can ease a sense of isolation. One is to meet regularly with a small group of artist friends to share resource information and to critique each other’s art (finished or in progress). Another option is to join a local art organization for volunteer and exhibit opportunities. Social media networks include a variety of artist groups and it is often possible to find other artists who live in your area and who may want to meet. Lately, there has been an increase in “pop-up” art shows, and cultural events which co-mingle art, music, poetry, comedy, dance. Artists can work together with other creative folks to organize shows and events, and even donate a portion of sales to a charity. This interdisciplinary approach enriches the art experience for artists and viewers alike. And meeting those who work in other art forms is a great avenue for finding new inspirations as well as new friends.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My website (www.cynthiajlee.com) has my art, bio, artist statement, exhibit information (current and past), and links to my blog and online interviews. I also post images of new/sold work, my upcoming exhibits, and various art inspirations on my Facebook artist page: Cynthia J Lee/Abstract Expressions. People can support my work by following my website, by “liking” my Facebook artist page, by contacting me so I can add them to my email list for occasional newsletters, and—best of all—by coming to my exhibits! If people see particular paintings online and would like to view them in person, I am happy to arrange a convenient time and location for them to do so. I am available to answer any questions about my art, or the price of any work, via my website, phone, text message, or email. I have a satisfaction guaranteed policy but have never had a customer return any of the over 130 paintings I’ve sold.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cynthiajlee.com
- Phone: (708) 557-1025
- Email: CynthiaLeeAbstractExpressions@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthiajleeabstractexpressions/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJLeeAbstracts
Image Credit:
Kristen Lorenzen
Ben Cooley
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