The Connection Bridgewater-Somerville Edition Feb/Mar 2019

PAGE 8 THE BRIDGEWATER-SOMERVILLE CONNECTION FEB/MARCH 2019 433 Route 22 Flemington, NJ 08822 908-824-7042 Hours: Monday-Wednesday 10-6 | Thursday 10-8 Friday 10-6 | Saturday 9-4 | Sunday Closed JC KLEIN Gold, Silver, Coins, Artwork & Antiques Buyer & Seller of Estate Diamonds Life imitates art and being an artist I find things all around me that inspire me. Henri Matisse is quoted as saying, “Creativity takes courage.” And when looking at a blank piece of paper or a white canvas, it can be the scariest thing to have in front of you, but once you put down that first paint stroke or swipe of a pastel it gets easier each time. I think no matter how much training an artist has, it’s the initial stroke that sets off the piece to where it becomes art. When I look at the journey that my art has taken me, it’s been inspirational from the start between the artists that I’ve studied and the inspiration that I got from my own life from growing up on a dairy farm in Warren. I started my art training at the Art Institute of Pitts- burgh, where I had my first initial life drawing class, being inspired from my classmates and the guidance of my instructors. While in Pittsburgh I would go to the museum on Saturdays to practice my drawing skills. From Pittsburgh, I worked as a graphic artist making slide presentations and on my off time stud- ied at the Art Student’s League of New York where I learned about color and using oil paints and I became a life member at the League. Color has end- less possibilities and understanding how to use color was my focus along with painting the figure in oil. My first series of paintings that I was inspired to paint was based on the farm I grew up on in War- ren, Wagner’s Dairy Farm. I had a solo show at Chubb in 1991based on the farm. This show was based on the history and life of my family’s farm giv- ing me much fodder to work with, dedicating it to my father and grandfather for their inspiration and dedication to what was a family institution. I learned about painting the portrait when I studied with John Howard Sanden, a renowned portrait artist. I was a member of Women in the Arts in NYC and met a fellow artist who was also a representative artist. She introduced me to the Salmagundi Club in NYC where I became a member in 1991 participat- ing in many art auctions and selling each time. Once at the Salmagundi Club I met an artist whose pastels totally intrigued me, being rich in color and form. Once again, I was back at the Art Student’s League to study with him on the use of pastels becoming my inspiration in the medium. Now when I use pastels I push color to its fullest, being not only inspired from the medium that I’m using but also from the Fauvism movement’s use of color. When possible I push color and this is seen in the fruit still lifes that I create, bouncing rich color from object to object. Over the years, I’ve participated in numerous shows both group and solo, am member of ARTsee a local artist group in Basking Ridge, while still being a member of the organizations in NYC. My artwork is in many private collections in the US and in Europe. For more information on my art, my studio is open by appointment only and my artwork can be seen on my website: www.moocowart.com. CINDY WAGNER www.theconnectionsnj.com