Next Up: Spring Pop-Up Art Market April 20th 11am-5pm

Sylvia Cooley

Fox

Oil

Artist Statment:

I spent countless hours, days, and months, creating a body of work for my solo art show, which was scheduled to be on display throughout the month of March, 2020. I painted through the dead of winter, filling my home studio with both the joy of creating, but also with the expectation that my work would be seen and appreciated. Thoughtfully selecting the proper frame, titling each piece, photographing, cataloguing, and labeling was a labor of love. I packed up nineteen paintings and installed the show February 29. Two weeks into the exhibit, our nation was hit with COVID-19, and it was shut down. I was wounded. Not devastated, but deeply saddened. After hauling all the paintings away, I spent days without painting anything; all the creative energy had vanished. Weeks went by before I began to dream again of what was next! I started a series of florals, and am now into painting beautiful peonies. I won’t allow the brushes to be idle for long.

Bio: 

Inspired by the beauty of nature, Sylvia Cooley paints “her heart out.” From her vantage point, the subject matter is enormous. Local farmers are accustomed to seeing her wander in their fields and pastures. She occasionally collaborates with wildlife photographers for reference material, but prefers to paint from life or from her own photos.

She studied art privately at the age of eleven (first drawing, then painting), majored in art at a liberal arts college, took numerous workshops from both well-known artists and obscure ones, but learned most by self-study. Improving her work is a lifelong pursuit and she finds much joy and fulfillment in the journey.