About
Travel and painting are very important parts of my life. I have been fortunate to have lived in and experienced different cultures. I have lived in Turkey, Ecuador and Peru. Being married to an exploration geologist I was able to travel to different parts of these beautiful countries that many people do not get the chance to see.
I had always loved watercolor, so when I was living in Peru, I purchased a wonderful watercolor book, “Glorious Garden Flowers in Watercolor,” Susan Harrison-Tustain. Following her directions, I actually produced some good floral paintings. I was then fortunate to have had some wonderful teachers, Danial Peña & Juan Pastorelli, in Peru. My good friend and mentor, Elke McDonald, has also always been an inspiration.
When I moved back to Colorado in 2006, I went back to work and didn’t paint consistently until 2016. Having been to Africa on my first safari in 2013, I fell in love with Africa and its animals and decided to learn to paint them. I took some online classes from Jan Martin-Mcguire – one of the best wildlife artists in the world. I returned to Africa in 2018 where I trekked in to see the mountain gorillas of Uganda and Rwanda. More recently, I’ve spent time in India, Nepal and Bhutan, where we got to see tigers and the one horned rhinos on safari in India and Bhutan, and hiked up to the Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan. Additionally, I’ve been a scuba diver for 35 years and have had the pleasure of getting to know our spectacular underwater universe.
I’ve also become very involved with spirituality. My teachers have had a profound effect on me. They have all helped guide me back to myself and helped give me the confidence to follow my dreams. I have learned to never, ever stop dreaming big crazy dreams and to take action every day to achieve them.
Painting can be a very solitary activity – but not lonely – because my work, including the prep, finding the perfect photo or blending several photos, is a very meditative experience. Sometimes when I get stuck, I take a walk or bake something or look at other artists’ work. When I return to the painting, the answer is almost always there – right in front of me. And, isn’t that true of life! When you are challenged, you have to get far enough away from the problem to see the answer.
Seeing wildlife in their natural habitat makes me fall more in love with the continents that support them and appreciate the symbiotic relationships of everything. It takes me back to my spiritual belief that we are all one. Connecting with nature is profoundly moving; like visiting a part of my soul I didn’t know was there. The landscape, the people, the animals, the culture and the history, everything is so far removed from my everyday life. Africa makes me feel the rawness of life – it is so alive.
I like to remove my animals from their familiar environment so that the viewer can relate to them directly without any preconceptions that a background might express. My hope is that my paintings are a reminder of nature’s endless diversity and our interconnection with all creatures, big and small.
“For when one experiences Africa, its ancient rhythms and extreme beasts, it seizes their soul… and a part of them remains forever.” John Banovich
I currently live, paint and enjoy life in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. I have so many images from my travels that inspire me everyday to keep on painting!
I would love to see your comments. Just click on the comments link above. You can also follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cyndy.beardsley.
Love and Namaste, Cyndy