A Little About Me
Big surprise, I've always been an artist. My mom noticed very early on (thankfully) that I had an obsession with drawing and provided an endless supply of paper and crayons. My parents weren't the least bit surprised when I announced I was going to art school. Fortunately, they weren't the 'you'll never make it as an artist' types. They're the 'do what ever makes you happy' types. More people should be that way.
I love writing and illustrating for children, particularly if it inspires THEM to do what brings them joy. For further proof that this is what I love to do, I'm a member of SCBWI and studied picture book writing and illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Newberry Library in Downtown Chicago (this is why I love Chicago- so much opportunity!). Traditional materials such as watercolor, guoache, colored pencil, and ink are my preferred medium. Everyone says 'go digital'. I say, maybe one day. It's not that I can't or don't know how, I just prefer not to because my eyes get really tired after staring at the computer too long and it seems a touch of arthritis is developing in my hand. I'd like to preserve eyes and hands, thank you kindly. So I stick to what's comfy, not painful.
My style is quirky and my approach is heartfelt and honest. When I draw, it's sort of like the whole world gets really quiet, and then I realize that it's just me being very quiet on the inside and the noise is still around me, but I just don't notice it.
This part is pretty cool. I've done official artwork for the Star Wars franchise. Given that those movies were a MASSIVE inspiration for me to become an artist, and also being a life long fan, that's quite a big deal to me. My art is on Star Wars trading cards, magazines, and licensed prints. I had a separate web site for all that art but took it down last year because it was difficult to maintain two sites, two blogs, have a life, eat, etc..etc... You can always find my art at Star Wars.com (the official site). Just search 'Cynthia Cummens' (my maiden name).
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Pardon Me While I Road Trip!
That's my husband Ian and me at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, on our Wild West Trip in September 2010. How about those hats? I like them. It was fairly windy up there as you could imagine (the hats stayed put).
By the way, he's an incredible musician and if you haven't heard his music, you really really should (especially if you dig prog rock stuff from the 70's, which greatly influences his style). His lyrics are very spiritual (all about waking up!) and he's passionate about what he does. Go give him a listen.
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Here's a picture of me and Ian in cab in India (Dec. 2009). We could be anywhere, I know, but hey, there's our malas! Anyway,
I love how happy we look and felt and I hope you also experience whatever puts an ear-to-ear grin on your face (and lots of it)!
Though we could live anywhere, Evanston, Illinois is where we've set up basecamp and have chosen to stick around. Also, our families live in Chicago...and we want to be near them because they're important to us. For the past few years, I've been deepening my spiritual practices through yoga (here's my yoga blog). Yes, I'm vegetarian, but no, not vegan. I meditate every day but it took years before it became a steady practice. And speaking of basecamp, I have a dream of going to Nepal (no, not to climb Everest, just to experience someplace new to me). I read somewhere that it never hurts to ask, because you never know who might answer. Will you pay for me to go there? Ok, couldn't hurt to try.
Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to draw for you if you'll let me.
Send me an email and let's see what happens:cynnarcisi@gmail.com
All good things-
-Cyn
3 Simple Reasons It's Good To Be Human:
1. Our brains can think about...our brains! (How cool is that?)
2. We can make really good choices (and really bad ones) and learn from both.
3. Star Wars
