Cindy Vener

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Cindy Vener lived and worked in Lynchburg, Virginia for 35 years. She retired 10 years ago from the financial services industry from a 30 year career as an insurance actuary. Cindy picked up a brush for the first time 25 years ago and has been painting ever since.

Cindy studied painting under the tutelage of Virginia artist Rosalie Day White for 10 years. She also has taken workshops and classes with artists John Morgan, Mary Gilkerson, Jeffrey Erickson, Robert Burridge and Jane Slivka. One of Cindy’s favorite learning experiences is the Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program in Bath County, Virginia. She has attended this summer artist’s retreat every summer for 10 years and studied with artists in residence Sara Linda Poly, Laura Loe, Andras Bality, and Diego Sanchez.

Cindy has taught palette knife painting, abstract and beginner acrylic workshops in Virginia and Florida.

When she is not painting, Cindy can be found on the golf course or traveling with her husband of 30 years.

Whether painting a landscape or abstract, color, light, and texture are what interest me. I like to translate what I see using bold shapes and color with energetic mark making.My artwork is shaped by bold color, shapes, texture and light from my surroundings. Having recently moved to The Villages, Florida from Virginia, where I lived for almost 40 years, I have found new inspiration for my paintings in the Florida landscape. I paint en plein air and in my studio, working in oil or acrylic, frequently using a palette knife. I started working with cold wax medium five years ago and found it to be a great vehicle for layering color, making marks, scratching through paint and revealing layers below to create texture in my abstracts.Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Joan Mitchell and Monet inspire my artwork.

FL