Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Underwood.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After graduate school at School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University in Boston, I moved to Brooklyn and then later to the LA area where I’m at now. In each place, I’ve been in group and solo shows. I try to get my work seen by as many people as possible and as often as possible. I use social media quite a bit and also try to get into as many art exhibits as I can. I’ve worked and experimented quite a bit and found my sweet spot in watercolor. Nowadays, I sell most of my watercolor paintings through Facebook and Instagram. It’s really exciting and an adrenalin rush to pour myself into a painting and then have someone want it to grace their walls so much that they’ll part with their hard-earned cash. I love being an artist.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road to where I’m at now has been pretty expected. Lots of ups and downs. I work consistently at developing my skill and my vision. Lots of times other artists sell more work or get more shows than I do but I continue on because I love to paint and I know that when the right person sees my work then magic happens. Some other struggles I’ve met along the way mostly revolve around me having a full-time job in addition to painting. Having the full-time job does provide me the means to continue painting. However, it takes away a lot of time that I need to develop my work so that it’s not only beautiful but also comes from my soul. Having a full-time job also takes away precious time to create more quality connections in the art world. These struggles are part of life. Being persistent and having a positive attitude towards myself, my artwork and the world help me deal with the challenges.
Please tell us more about your art.
I paint watercolor paintings of action scenes of current events and things that catch my eye in the Los Angeles area. One of my most popular paintings to date is of a cop car in flames by CBS studios during a George Floyd protest. I’m most known for my landscape paintings of poppies seen in Lancaster at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. I love the expressiveness of watercolors. The way the water and pigment move so unpredictably on the paper is exciting. My work has a modern edge and tends to be vibrant and spontaneous.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m exploring the Mojave desert in watercolor. My focus is on the wide open skies, the rocky landscape and the desert people. I’m also diving into painting the movie sets out here, like the church in Kill Bill.
For my more personal work, I’ve started working on themes of memory and perseverance with a focus on my own loss of memory from a coma. The focus on perserverance is also seen in the work I’m doing about a group of teenage refugees who I taught photo to in a refugee camp in the mid-80s. There is a ton of possible content here for me to work with. My aim for this body of work is to show in galleries.
Pricing:
- Small watercolors are $350
- Medium watercolors are $600
- Watercolors about perseverance and memory loss are anywhere from $600-$10,000
Contact Info:
- Phone: 818-312-3631
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @cynthia_watercolor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=631184800
Image Credit:
Cynthia Underwood
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
