Painter Cynthia Rowland

Cynthia Rowland graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Graphic and Fine Arts. She spent a dozen years in New York, where she founded her own graphic design business. In 1993, she returned to New Mexico to pursue sculpture in cast bronze. Her commitment developed into both public and private commissioned works. By 2005, she had completed over 40 projects, including several large-scale sculptures, such as the award-winning Senator Dennis Chavez Memorial at Civic Plaza in Albuquerque, NM, and the larger-than-life statue of Medal of Honor recipient William H. Pitsenbarger, Pararescueman for the United States Air Force, who saved over 60 men before being shot to death in a battle during Vietnam. The Pitsenbarger Project was close and dear to her heart, as Cynthia's father served in the United States Air Force and Vietnam.

Turning to painting, she developed a unique style and metaphor through close observation of her motifs - flowers, still-life, portraits, and figures. She has participated in several competitions, exhibitions, and galleries in Santa Fe and has exhibited in several museums in the US. Her work is in the collection of the Albuquerque Museum of Art. She has been instrumental in bringing the historic New Mexico Art League back to prominence. She also served as the State Ambassador for the Portrait Society of America for five years.

"I enjoy the dual aspect of painting: combining a graphic sense of the two-dimensional plane with a three-dimensional illusion. Coming from a graphic design and sculpture background, I enjoy sculpting with paint, leaving the marks and the descriptions of the brushstrokes I am making. I am striving to understand better and communicate to the viewer what I observe: the space and shape of the canvas's surface and the space and form around the object in my painting."