Cynthia Peterson is a contemporary realist whose roots are in a classical tradition. “I cannot remember a time that I did not draw,” she says. “When I was little, my mother took me to the Phoenix Art Museum, and I remember one painting that made such an impression on me that I tried to draw it from memory when I came home. Years later, I would learn that it was Joseph Stella’s ‘Flowers, Italy’ that intrigued me so much.” Her father, a photographer, brought home books of old master still life paintings, starting a lifelong interest in still life as a subject and painting techniques. Ms. Peterson began formal studies in art at college, where she studied graphic design and painting. She began painting in egg tempera, then oil, forming a great interest in old master painting methods and taking workshops in Austria. Later, a class during graduate school introduced her to contemporary realists and watercolor directions. She changed her focus and specialized in watercolor. Today she is a prolific artist in various media such as oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, whose work has exhibited in many solo and national exhibitions.

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