Cynthia Collins
[adrotate banner=”60″]
Cynthia Collins is a Christian artist who has painted portraits and commissioned paintings for collectors for over 25 years. The daughter of missionary parents, the artist was born in Texas and raised in Central and East Africa. She and her sister attended boarding school just outside of Nairobi, which back then was a thriving international marketplace in the heart of Africa that attracted travelers from all over the world. It was during this period that the artist became interested in capturing different kinds of people and animals with a paintbrush. After boarding school she traveled with her family to Europe, then returned Stateside to attend college in Texas. She later moved to New York City, where she continued her art studies at NYU and the Art Students’ League and began her career as a painter and sculptor.
In the years that followed, she enjoyed a rich and rewarding career in fine arts, including portraiture, landscapes, murals, theater sets, book covers, and illustrations for film and print. She also enjoyed collaborating with
humanitarian and mission-oriented groups. She says that while it has not been a path that led to great wealth, it has been greatly cherished and she would not choose any other life. The artist’s exposure to different cultures—from Africa to Europe to many parts of the United States—has had a profound effect on her paintings. Many have remarked on the lifelike, deeply personal quality of her portraits. She has also painted a number of animals, both domestic and exotic. Her landscapes are richly textured and range in size from three feet to ten feet across. The artist moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1987 to be near her extended family. She married a good Southern man and raised her own family here in the South, which she now calls home.
