Artist Spotlight: Cynthia Morris

Photos and Article by Kim Carr

It’s not often that you hear of a career in banking inspiring an artist to create.  However, this is exactly what happened for juried member Cynthia Morris who has worked for the 3^rd National Bank in Sedalia, MO for the past 36 years. You see, back in 1996, Cynthia purchased a set of colored pencils and set about doing some drawings… a little here and there. It wasn’t until the bank approached Cynthia to draw their dogwood logo for use on note cards that things really clicked. This simple dogwood logo launched Cynthia head first into the world of art.

Back in high school, Cynthia took art and was even offered a full ride scholarship with what is now the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. The thought of having to take all the prerequisite classes did not appeal to her nor did becoming a commercial artist or teacher.  Her main focus in life was to get married and start a family. She did just that and started out working for the telephone company as a switchboard operator. Once she had her son, she stayed home to raise him before entering the world of banking which is where she still maintains her day job.

At home, Cynthia has a nice studio at the back of the house with a large drafting table that is seldom used. Instead, she prefers to work in the living room with her husband while listening to a television program. Sitting on the couch with a board in her lap, pencils next to her and Louie, the family dog, keeping an eye, Cynthia will often put in over 100 hours on one of her pieces making it just right.

Born and raised in Sedalia, her grandfather was very artistic, her brother enjoys wood working and ceramics while her son also loves to draw. Being creative seems to run in the family. Working on museum board, Cynthia tries to draw every day. Most of her pieces are 16 x 20, but it varies depending on what she is drawing. Her drawing is her therapy, and she considers it a God-given gift which she has nurtured and taken strides to improve upon by learning from others.  Without a doubt, her husband Steve, son Josh and her co-workers at the bank are her biggest supporters and give her encouragement to try new things. When asked if she had any advice to give to new artists, Cynthia said, “not to get discouraged.” She has found herself at shows where her work did not receive much attention, and then she would turn around and win Best of Show at the next exhibit.

View Cynthia’s BOMH page at: http://www.bestofmissourihands.org/artisans/painting-drawing/cynthiamorris/

Over the years, she has dabbled in water color and acrylics. Someday she would like to try graphite but she loves the colored pencils because there is no mess, nothing to clean up.  She is attracted to anything that represents a challenge…a cat behind a screen door, apples in a plastic bag-all are a worthy subject matter but perhaps her favorite subject matter is horses. As luck would have it, Cynthia’s husband works for the Missouri State Fairgrounds giving her a heads-up when there is a horse show in town. Cynthia receives inspiration for future drawings from photographs that she often takes at the shows. Commissioned work often comes from horse lovers themselves wishing Cynthia to capture the strength, heart and beauty of their trusted steed.

As her confidence and skill grew, Cynthia started to exhibit… Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Santa Fe. It was at a show that she met fellow Best of Missouri Hands artist, Jeff Walker, who encouraged Cynthia to join the group and as they say, the rest is history. Cynthia has shown at Silver Dollar City through the Best of Missouri Hands.  The majority of shows she competes in now are with the Colored Pencil Society. She has been a signature member for over 12 years. Despite her high ranking, awards and recognition that she has received over the years Cynthia states that there is always room for improvement.

Learn more about the Colored Pencil Society of America at: http://www.cpsa.org/

Cynthia utilizes both the Best of Missouri Hands website to market her work and her personal website along with showing in two Missouri galleries.

Locally, Cynthia’s work can be found at the Art Impressions Gallery in Sedalia http://artimpressions.net/ and the Riverport Market in Glasgow http://www.riverportmarket.com/

In an effort to give back, Cynthia enjoys teaching others the art of colored pencil drawing. You can get more information about upcoming classes and workshops on her personal website at: http://cynthiacmorris.com/