We recently connected with Cindy Ross and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I would not have had the courage or direction to pursue my art as a profession had it not been for the mentorship, inspiration and support I received from fellow artists on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, a haven for amazing and talented artists. In particular, the generosity extended to me by acclaimed artist Marlene Vermeulen was pivotal. I attended Marlene’s art retreat in Spain and it marked the start of my art career.

In my prior life as an interior designer there had been competition from other designers. I worried that the same thing would exist with other artists as I embarked on my life passion of painting. Painting is a vulnerable exercise, and I struggled with my confidence in my work. Marlene gave me guidance, and most importantly she gave me positive encouragement, and her kind generosity by sharing that she saw a clear voice emerging in my art and mark making, is what gave me the confidence to devote myself to my craft. I will be forever grateful, and make a point of paying it forward.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I owned and operated an interior design business for over 15 years. The best part of designing interiors was creating a home that reflected my cients’ personalities and values. I would sometimes call this creating a design vibe. Throughout my career I was drawn to textures, colours and how material selection and the light in a space could affect how you would feel about that space. There were times when my clients’ budgets did not allow for art for their walls. I often would grab a large canvas and paint an abstract that brought in the colours and textures of the room to fill those walls. I would say to my clients, “this painting is a place holder for when you find that perfect piece”. I often would have clients tell me years later that they not only kept my art in their home, but had been asked by others “who is the artist?”.

I had always painted for myself, and had never considered becoming an artist. When I turned 50, I decided that the time felt right to focus on my painting. I am an entrepreneur at heart and when I started my design business I had been told that it would be a difficult field to make money. My thought is “nothing ventured is nothing gained”, other people are doing it, why can’t that be me? Starting with confidence was important, because making money as an artist is difficult and very humbling and at times I would get very discouraged, but by continuing to build my practice and put in hard work, there are successes that keep me going.

Being an artist, for me, is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I don’t think the constant learning of my craft will ever be done. It has taken me years and many bad paintings to find my medium and my voice. I love working with oils, moving the paint around with a palette knife on large canvases, capturing the natural environment and playing with colours. I constantly face doubt in what I am working and staying motivated at times is a challenge. But the magical flow state when I am painting keeps me going, and of course, my wonderful collectors and their vote of confidence in me when they purchase a piece of my art fuels my journey.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The work of preparing for an art exhibit, pouring my heart and soul into each piece and the work on marketing and setting up an exhibit, and ultimately not selling a single piece of art can be very difficult and humbling.

The rejection can really affect my confidence in my art, but I often remind myself of the sage words of a fellow artist who said, do not change your art to make a “sale”. stay true to your voice and your art will speak to someone because it is authentic. Your audience will find you.

I come away from these experiences with the connections I made with people attending the exhibition and the sharing a wonderful community with the other amazing artists.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had to pivot my art practice when I moved from the Sunshine Coast to Kelowna, BC.

Leaving that supportive art community and setting up in a new community was very challenging and not my choice. There was grief in that loss that I had to overcome to find my place in my new community.

It has been difficult and it took over a year to get my confidence back. I had to find new art groups and at times it felt like I was going backwards. But I did not give up and kept reaching out to find my place in my new art community. it wasn’t easy to make the move, but I have gained confidence in my abilities to stick to my passion and work through the doubts and difficulties of losing my support network.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cindyrossart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindyrossart/