CYNTHIA COOPER

Cynthia Cooper is an energetic artist who lives and works in Connecticut. She has been making art pretty much forever, including throughout the time that she directed both an award-winning advertising/graphic design studio and a successful e-commerce website selling antique textiles. She is not what you would expect.

Cynthia studied art and printmaking at the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Hartford Art School and the Mechanicsburg (Pennsylvania) Art Center.

Cynthia’s art is part of the Pennsylvania State University Permanent Collection,
The New Britain Museum of American Art Permanent Collection and
private collections

Read more and see more of Cynthia’s work at http://cyncooper.com/

Where do you find inspiration?

I am convinced that inspiration finds me!

Who are your most important artistic influences?

Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, Henri Matisse

What motivates you to create?

Nothing specific motivates me. It’s like breathing; it’s built in. Plus, I have always had an intense fear of wasting time coupled with the urge to make things.

If it has, how has your style changed over time?

Absolutely! I started out as a figurative artist (I still am one) but as things have “interested me” I have followed each path, no matter how far it lead away from my current work. My work cycles through series (examples: one using textile scraps, one using words, one with lines, one with hearts, whatever I decide to combine and I work on them until I have either bored myself or exhausted more possibilities.) I used to worry if my side projects were “art” or if they were “important” but then I realized that I was going to make them anyway so it did not matter. I also worried about whether my paintings were “art” or “important” but the same is true for them and I try to silence that voice of doubt. To cycle back to how my work has changed, each piece I work on gives me a new idea to try next. If I follow all my ideas of trying something, they lead me to my next thing. Sometimes it could be as simple as turning a painting that I am working on in a different direction and it hits me that I should try that next. It’s an unpredictable process and even I am surprised by what I am making. Even though I am currently focused on geometric abstraction, I can identify a very strong connection between where I started and where I am at this moment. And I have always been obsessed with color.

How do you further develop your art skills?

The value of being part of a community really interests me. Being around and connecting with other artists feeds my creative process. Their processes and thoughts help me think through ideas in order to clarify or change them. When I was younger and thought I knew everything I didn’t feel the need to be around other artists much. Also my jobs were intense and didn’t leave lots of spare time. I have also been known to discover a cool new product and figure out a way to use it creatively in my work. Of course, I read, see exhibitions of other artist’s works and follow lots of artists, museums and galleries on Instagram. I am also planning on taking some classes and workshops just to see where that would take me.

Does where you live affect what you create?

How can it not!? East coast of North America… on planet Earth.  

What do you want your work to evoke in the viewer? What do you want the viewer to feel or think about concerning these works?

My heartfelt hope is for a viewer to think: Wow!

Does your work have a connection to nature?

A wholehearted yes! I believe there is nature in everything I make.