71st Annual Juried Exhibition: Cynthia Harvey

My art is largely an intuitive process incorporating different textures, colors, shapes and forms. It typically occurs organically with minimal planning and a lot of reactive decisions. They are often made quickly, sometimes only discovered after setting it aside for a period of time, then bringing it out again to look at with a fresh eye.
 

When I bring the painting out again, I can either continue with what I have going, or allow it to morph into new shapes and objects, turning it sideways or upside-down. I’ll often realize it’s not working at all and then paint over a good portion of it. I will still allow small sections of the previous layer to show through, giving me new potential forms to play with.

Entry by Cynthia Harvey

This can occur several times throughout the life of the painting.

Entry by Cynthia Harvey

 Something that draws me to this way of working is that new textures are continually coming out. An uneven, textured surface becomes more tangible to me, I can relate to it more. It gives me a stronger tactile connection to what I am doing.

Use of semi-unconventional painting tools lends well to the creations. Along with the usual brush and knives, I use brayers, plastic spreaders, paper towels, the occasional broom.

Usually this is the most fun for me. The physicality of spreading large globs of paint across a board, letting two wet colors push against each other to create tiny mountain-like ranges and canyons, and sometimes violently intermixing and reacting as they are laid down and moved around.

Detail of Entry by Cynthia Harvey

The final piece can take anywhere from a day to several months to finish.

You can contact me at charvey@cynthiaharvey.com, or view other paintings and drawings at cynthiaharvey.com.

by Cynthia Harvey 

Cynthia's work is featured in Woodmere Art Museum's  71st Annual Juried Exhibition.

About Woodmere's 71st Annual Juried Exhibition: 

Woodmere's 71st Annual Juried Exhibition, juried by artist Alex Kanevsky, will feature works in a variety of media from 46 artists living within 50 miles of the Museum. Works were chosen to create a cohesive presentation that explores contemporary ideas within the arts of Philadelphia. In conjunction with the juried show, Kanevsky's own work will be on view in the exhibition Alex Kanevsky: Some Paintings and Drawings, and the artist has also selected some of Woodmere's works of art for display in Selections from the Collection.