CMSA....here's an old painting of mine of a woman named Vera, who, as she was dying fell in love with her caretaker; a mentally ill guy who was working off his community service hours caring for her...It was to the benefit of both; he was never saner than while he cared for her; She lived as a sensual physical inhabitant of her body until the very last moment of life...and i saw a transition from life to death that was miraculous and moving and not at all what i expected...
September 23rd, 2016.
CMSA; This is the painting that marked the beginning of better times for me....Thank you Alicia Estrada , and Stop Staring for the dress...Gabriela (Robert Permenter )for bringing this pose to life...and me for deciding to NEVER QUIT, NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "ALL THAT GLITTERS..." C VALLE
September 16th, 2016.
CMSA;
One reason i adore Bob Ross is he loved and raised squirrel babies just like me...and if you watch a program and listen to his instructions, his method is sound and based on the classic traditions of oil painting as he learned from his european mentor...i think back in the "painting is dead" phase of art ,europe, china, and russia were about the only places keeping the technical traditions alive while we in the states were too busy making installations and perforrmace art, We were more into "freely expressing "ourselves to bother with the notion of craft as it applied to any medium...the prevailing attitude in the art schools was that learning technique and working years to perfect it was uncool as it might inhibit your "free expression"..i admit the bob ross classes produced a huge proportion of horrible paintings that all looked alike; they abound in thrift stores and they are often seen ib the walls of cheap motels to this day...put i'm much in favor of bob rosses ability to get complete novices excited about oil painting, and his calm approach and personality made everybody actuallly feel like they could paint...also it turns out many latch key kids back in the 70's watched his show faithfully and found him comforting and watching him paint soothing...not bad bob ross! except for your horrible hairdo i think you rock!
September 12th, 2016.
September 11th, 2016.
CMSA; funny how some artists are born completely formed and then slowly loose their "art" to more rational learning...like this drawing by Casey Rogers, he did his "masterwork" at age 6...but he's a computer dude, probably hasn't drawn since he was 6! love you casey cole!!
September 8th, 2016.
CMSA; Coming to the end of the alternating white and glaze layers in this face...and my facebook friend Amanda Carter inspired this memory of my undergrad painting critique days at tyler;
"when i was at tyler, i'll never forget how students and faculty alike would use "illustrative" like a four letter word to describe (my) narrative painting...ok by me, i tend to get stronger when i've got something to push against....
September 4th, 2016.
CMSA; guess whose on netflix???(hint he's the "mr. rogers" of oil painting)
CREATIVE COURAGE
cmsa; CYNDAMARY'S RULES TO LIVE BY" Creative Courage means continuing despite your doubts, not quitting because of them" -Rollo May... I would add, "and if you're going to fail, have the courage to do it spectacularly! Never play it safe. And remember being predictable is fatal"
August 30th, 2016.
CMSA; Got to spend the whole day putting first glaze layers on this lovely pair of feet...
August 29th, 2016.
CMSA; even though i painted this 28 years ago and left it outside for three years (wanted that "distressed look")...it was prophetic; it exactly expresses my feelings as i tried to manage a hack of computer, credit card and facebook...facebook was the hardest to fix; YOU'RE NEVER ALLOWED TO TALK TO A HUMAN BEING... i am re naming this painting "sigh.." "all cracked up" , cynda valle
August 17th, 2016.
all of a sudden it was done...
Commission for Howard Hospital Chapel;
"A Place for You"
When my sister was dying of cancer at Cottage hospital in Santa Barbara, i typically stopped and looked at the oil paintings displayed every time i came and left her room, and i was comforted. They were simple landscape paintings of what appeared to be the surrounding foothills. It wasn't the image but rather the late afternoon (or early morning) light depicted that soothed me. I learned then, that golden light can touch the soul and remind the viewer of "the bigger picture". It hints at the Spirit that binds us all together, without the specific trappings of any particular religion. To paint this light, as it illuminates a typical mendo county landscape was my intention in "A Place for You".. I sincerely hope it will give solace to those who visit the chapel . Cynda Valle
August 25th, 2016.
CMSA; this amazing image is the work of photographer and my newest patroness, EveAnna Dauray Manley and a self portrait...already looks like a glazed painting to me...i get why she sees something in my work, cuz i see the same in hers; amazing how something as old and traditional as glazing has most in common with the added saturation and definition of the latest technology as shown here. she tells me it's done by sandwiching alot of different exposures into one image makes it so you can see into the shadows and don't have "burned out" highlights either...brava eveanna and thanks!!! can't wait until you paint again yourself....
August 19th, 2016.
CMSA; a note to working mother/artist and my facebook friend River Darling.
it is as hard as ever to be a parent and an artist; our society doesn't pay us for either!!!!!!!!!!shame on them....and you only have a finite amount of energy and your children need it all, that's true...being an artist was a mixed blessing when my kids were little; it waas great cuz i was less impatient and more cheerful if i got to paint a bit. but your'e so right about the kid needing all of you every moment you can spare...i regret that i would sometimes (under times of great duress, which happened frequently) retreat to the attic to paint and lock the door...to my everlasting fshame i remember my toddlers beating on that closed door...so i think you are right; if you have the generosity to give your child all of you i agree that's better for the child so brava! and you are young; you will have your art time full time i hope when your kids are grown and your money made...these days women get to live so long i've felt like turning 60 was like turning 18; that theres still alot of life and alot of time to paint...i made a deal with my husband too; i asked him to get the kids up and feed them breakfast etc.f so i could sleep til 8 or 9 am; that allowed me to work nights (usually 9pm to 1 or so)...loved those quiet nights, inspirational...you will learn to take advantage of these moments and you will never suffer from artists block again; a working mother simply has a great need to create and not a minute to waste...i learned to work faster ....procrastinate less...and keep a sketchbook so you don't loose all the lovely ideas youre coming up with; you need to get them down, they're like money in the bank, and if you don't , you'll forget them...post your work (like i do) ; even if you
are isolated from other artists you have a loving facebook community that would love to be involved with you and your life...find the other moms trying to do the same . ps. when i was nursing i'm also ashamed to remember i would find dabs of paint on the poor babies bald heads...an occupational hazard for being my sons... and you will do this cuz it's in you, so you have to find a way...all my love and support , cynda
August 17th, 2016.
broke my heart to see this "memory" ...what a heavenly place that was. miss all you people and devine mendo county...love, cynda mary
August 12th, 2016.
CMSA. painting directly in oil of the model..cynda valle oil on linen
August 12th, 2016.
CMSA; "survive your disaster" cynda valle, oil on linen...having two artist friends who have been working with the theme of girls and guns for some years now (thank you Steve Derrickson and Gabriel W Leonard) i decided to add my own take on it...loving the people and places at the Los Angeles Brewery, i'm using them as models and backgrounds...this is a door on the brewery loading dock, and the models are Guillermo (who works on campus) and the amazing woman/artist Jade... Thinking of this painting as a "sampler" of technique; the male head is fewer layers, more direct wet into wet..the female head is standard multiple glaze layers.....
August 11th, 2016.
CMSA; More "kitchen table" art. Called "nightmares", oil on scratchboard (when the kids were both playing soccer 12 weeks out of the year, i had to be chauffeur and cheer leader at the games...i started doing underpaintings on black inked scratchboard cuz it was a dry medium that i could work on at the games)...i should of maybe looked up a bit more, as i caught myself rooting for the wrong team often ...starring Cynthia Furchner 's lovely daughter Isabelle Shine, and my dear son; Casey Rogers..they were around 6 i think
August 10th, 2016.
CMSA; Another "kitchen Table " painting ...1995 , bakersfield ca , c valle
July 31st, 2016.
CMSA: Quick oil sketch of 21st century Madonna, i mean the old school kind , not the "like a virgin" kind.. about one hour "under the influence" cynda valle,
July 21st, 2016.
CMSA; WIP "survive your disaster", cynda valle; showing one of the re-applications of Super White (substitute for egg tempera as in classic tech) over the areas that will eventually have the brightest and lightest red glazes(both warm and coo) on top. i don't usually show this stage cuz it does look really weird, but after several layers it creates the most saturated lumniosity..well worth the effort!!! The other shows the setup of the painting with the reference tablet right below it...i find i have a lousy visual memory (for color especially) and i do the best job when the reference is close enough to the painting so that i can see both simultaneously;
