Trying to bring beauty into your life in these turbulent times? Please join Catherine Lee and Rosemary Winslow, DC residents and co-editors of the essay collection "Deep Beauty: Experiencing Wonder When the World Is on Fire," on Thursday, March 25, from 7:30-8:30 p.m., for readings and a discussion of finding beauty in experiences of happiness, sadness, pain, and loss. JoAnne Growney, Monica Mische, and Tabitha Nicole Smith will read excerpts from their essays. 

Rosemary Winslow is a writer, researcher, and teacher living in Washington, DC, with her husband, John Winslow, a visual artist. She grew up on a dairy farm in western New York, where the land, climate, trees, fields, and mammals offered both harshness and beauty. Hiking, swimming, gardening, yoga, and volunteering keep her in close touch with land and community. She appears in a new two-part film about Walt Whitman, offering commentary about the American poet. Titled “In Search of Walt Whitman,” the movie is available on YouTube. Part One can be viewed here; Part Two is available here.

Photo above: Bayou, gouache

Photo left: Dark of Flower, gouache

Join us for Dreams & Other Realities: In the Studio with Artist Cindy K. Renteria Tuesday, March 23rd 7pm-8.30pm on Zoom.

Cindy will share her work inspired by life in New Orleans and along the East Coast. She will discuss the dreamlike quality of her work and inspiration, as well as explore the creative process.

Photo Left: Follow the Stars, gouache

Artist Statement

The images in my paintings are filtered thorough my history, imagination and my dreams. They focus on color and motion.

Most of my paintings are landscapes. However, I also create work with figurative and architecture elements.

I start with a blank canvas most often and use the brush strokes to develop my artwork. My work is painted in layers, using gouache and watercolors or acrylics. When I paint, I begin with a light wash, developing areas that create motion and dimension. I only use water mediums, this allows for quick loose strokes of color.

These lay the groundwork for the painting.

As I paint I evaluate what sections are working within the composition. When the artwork stands together, the painting is finished.

My work is meant to be a place outside of reality. These paintings are a place for the viewer, to find their own dreams.

Photo above: Audubon Park, gouache

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Cindy K. Renteria's interest in art started early. Cindy was drawn to the trees in her neighborhood, which were filled with color and movement. In fact, trees and landscapes are the focus of many of her paintings. She attended art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Brooklyn College. Spending her summers in the Catskills with her family growing up was quite a change from living in Brooklyn. She loved the woods, the mountains and the freedom of these summers. Because of her time in the Catskills, she always felt a connection to Upstate New York.

While a student at the High School of Art and Design, she attended classes at Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of Modern Art. These classes introduced her too many artists including Picasso and Calder.

Photo Above: Suburbia, gouache

When it came time to go to college she found a school in the Catskills. She was able to reconnect with the mountains and woods of her youth. She continued her college career at Buffalo State College. While at college she earned a Bachelors of Science in Design. At Buffalo State she studied the watercolors by many artist including Charles Burchfield. During that time she painted in watercolors and gouache. She created many landscapes of the area.

After graduating from college. Renteria went to visit New Orleans. She was taken by the color, light and the openness of the place. Renteria ended up living there. She exhibited her paintings in many galleries and museums in the area. Renteria met her husband in New Orleans and they soon had a family. She spent her time painting and teaching art. She continued painting in watercolors and gouache. After Katrina flooded her home, she returned to New Orleans to recover her paintings and processions. Renteria then moved with her family to the East Coast to be closer to her extended family.

Following her relocation to the East Coast, she started painting in acrylics. She works almost solely in this medium. Her art has been in numerous exhibits. Renteria has been in many exhibits with the Women’s Caucus for the Arts. She continues to paint, teach and show her work.