Prisms of color
This story was featured in the December 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
THERE’S A LIVELY, almost jubilant sparkle to Cynthia Peterson’s watercolor paintings of bright, illuminated glass objects. Many years ago, the artist herself might have been surprised by both the realism and the vibrancy she has been able to achieve with the medium. “I was introduced to watercolors in school, but I hadn’t really been compelled to use them,” admits Peterson.
Her sentiment changed, however, when she entered the graduate program in fine art at Arizona State University. “I thought I’d take another watercolor class, and it was a completely different experience,” says the Arizona native. “I saw a lot of contemporary watercolor painters working in realism, which I was enamored by, and I ended up changing my focus to still-life watercolors.”
Although Peterson also works in other genres and mediums today, she finds that watercolors are particularly suited for her still lifes. “Most media work well with realism, but with watercolor you can get brilliant luminosity,” she says. And luminosity is a must in the artist’s still lifes, where glass vases, bottles, dishes, and other refractive and reflective objects catch the light and dazzle the eye. Peterson is especially fond of portraying Depression-era glassware, which has unique textures that create intriguing patterns when light passes through them. “They are all about light and color,” says Peterson of her paintings. “I think part of that is from growing up here in Arizona, where you have this very dramatic lighting. I think that has influenced me to create this sense of light, color, and drama in my paintings.”
Peterson is represented by www.cynthiapetersonfineart.com.
This story was featured in the December 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook
The post Artist of Note | Cynthia Peterson appeared first on Southwest Art Magazine.