Hello!
MY NAME IS Cissy.
I was born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As a child, my time was spent swimming in the bayous, playing on the sand bars, and fishing in the waters.
These childhood experiences have had a special influence on my artistic inspirations and are the subjects that I continue to return to.
Watercolor has been my media of choice since working with Charles Ambrose at Mississippi University for Women, where I received my BFA, and then studying with him again at William Carey College on the coast.
As an art teacher, I worked and created with all material and media, but watercolor is where I always return.
The ability to layer one color over another, over and over, to create layers of depth, and to continue to see the beginning color and brushstroke is inspiring.
I love how it allows us to look deeply into the painting, past the surface; it draws the viewer into the scene of the painting.
Nature has always been my inspiration and teacher. A decaying fishing cottage on the banks of the bayou, with rich neutral colors of the weathered wood that contrast with the warm inviting red of the rusty roof; the embrace of lush, overgrown foliage; the aging majestic shrimp boat with peeling paint and rusty rigging reaching up to the heavens; birds flying over the waters like angels flying low with grace and joy.
These scenes are my inspiration and in painting them I hope to share the experience with you and to preserve our heritage of beautiful, natural resources.
