C y n t h i a D e C o s t e
Full-time Art Educator and Visual Artist
Originally from Ontario I graduated with honors from the Visual Arts program at the University of Western Ontario. After graduating I began my teaching career by day and artistic career as a portrait artist by night. I soon found the demands for drawings overwhelming, the whole process became too restrictive and boring - my imagination was wasting away. It was about this time that I meet my husband and together we moved from the big city in Ontario to a small town in Northern New Brunswick – I left behind my pencils and desire to draw.
My urge to create returned after my children were born and with the support of my husband I picked up a paintbrush and discovered a whole new world! Now once my children have
gone to sleep instead of drawing I paint. My most recent work shows everyday scenes emphasized or exaggerated by colours and simplified shapes.
The inspiration for many of my paintings comes from the landscape I see around me. I live in northern New Brunswick with the Atlantic Ocean in front of me, and the forest behind me. The landscape is unspoiled by industry, it is rugged yet beautiful. The coastline is dotted with beaches, family farms and fishing towns; in the woods small logging villages appear along the highway.
