This week, I am pleased to welcome Cynthia Underwood
to the podcast. And I want to alert my listeners that this episode will require
the use of some adult language. Be forewarned.
The reason I mention this is because of how I know
Cynthia. You see, she used to be just one of my wife’s old friends from back in
Lancaster, California. Then, a few years ago, Vicky bought me my first painting
– not a print but an actual painting. Owning this painting had shown me the
difference between something that is art and something that is “of art,” such
as a print.
The painting I call “insomnia” and is one of Cynthia
Underwood’s “Fuck” paintings. I call it a “Fuck” painting because the word
“Fuck” is featured prominently on the work. It is powerful and speaks to the
problem of insomnia.
Like me, Cynthia often employs a pseudonym and hers
is “Lola de Rossi”.
Cynthia's life has always included art. She earned
her BA in Studio Art as well as Art History at Humboldt State University and
also holds an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the School of the Museum of
Fine Arts from Tufts University. After that followed a residency at the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Cynthia has created art in all sorts of venues, from
corporate to whatever the hell she wanted. As a freelance artist, she designed
work for Staples and Doritos. She was an instructor at the Mala Krsna Refugee
Camp in Serbia, Littlerock High School, and several colleges but her career now
is in Design Patents for the U.S. Patent Office.
This is not to say that Cynthia left her dreams of
being an artist behind, however. As anyone can see on her website at www.cynthiaunderwood.com,
art continues to be an important part of her life. From word sculpture to
employing different types of canvas – including a few cars – and on to her
present project eloquently titled “Happy is the New Edgy”, Cynthia continues to
make her dream an important part of her life.
We covered a lot of territory in this episode,
including…
adult language, "of" art, insomnia, fuck
paintings, Lola de Rossi, Humboldt State University, Tufts University,
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Staples, Doritos, Mala Krsna
Refugee Camp, www.cynthiaunderwood.com,
word sculpture, Happy is the New Edgy, photography, sports medicine, art
history, german, PS1/MoMA, Dodge Daytona, urban camoflage, SAAB 2000, words and
appropriation, God Bless America and Her Natural Resources, Playboy, Penthouse,
Reading Material, consumerism, hope, positivity, patents, US Patent Office,
office work, working in law, Plan Bs, Washington DC, working from home, big
picture, Normal is the New Edgy, Facebook, overtime, Do Something Fun, Healthy
is the New Edgy, Living Art, Making Art, passion, running, pseudonyms, Run Lola
Run, poetry readings, Three and a Half Minutes, Be Happy, Life as Art, Angela
Kay Austin, Climbing Maya, The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers, The Dream
is The Map
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