Cindy Bouwers’ nature-inspired paintings capture light and convey emotion to uplift and nurture the viewer. But the former teacher at the Alberta College of Art + Design (now Alberta University of the Arts) didn’t always allow herself to explore her creativity in this way.
After obtaining her BFA in visual communication design and building a career as an accomplished graphic designer, she decided to explore a long-buried desire to paint and pursue her own artwork.
“I had received lots of accolades and awards in my design career, but I still felt like something was missing,” she says of her mindset before she left the world of graphic design in 2006.
“I was burnt out and I needed a more personal expression of my creativity. There was a deep, buried need inside of me to express art and I couldn’t supress it anymore. Of course, I had doubts about whether I could do this. It felt like jumping off a cliff, but I was able to push past my comfort zone and reach a place of contentment and gratitude.”
She adds that the book The Artists Way by Julia Cameron served as her spiritual guide to creativity, allowing her to dispel her disparaging beliefs around becoming an artist.
Bouwers has since followed a new creative path that has resulted in a rich body of work informed by her design background. She has been juried into a number of group shows in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto and, in 2019, won the Duggan Landscape Award presented by the Society of Canadian Artists for her landscape painting titled Gust and Flurry.
“The accomplishment I am most proud of is when someone walks up to me at a show and says that they connect with one of my pieces,” she says.
“I would like to bring the viewer into a shared experience, a moment of pleasure, a recognition of beauty, a sense of hope. I enjoy using strong value patterns to add visual excitement and to create a compelling structure to the compositions. I get the most gratification if I’m able to evoke an emotional response.”
She works mainly in oil and acrylic, but has recently started experimenting with gouache, an opaque water colour. In addition to landscapes, she paints abstract, figures and florals.
Bouwers takes part in about nine shows a year and her work is showcased in several galleries and studios in Calgary and the surrounding area. She is excited to take part in the Calgary Artist Studio Tour in May 2025.
“Art enhances the experience of life. It elevates our environments and physical spaces, making them vibrant and meaningful,” she says.
“Art and culture make a community more encompassing. They help us understand each other and see more than our own experience. It opens up our way of seeing things and allows people to grow.”
Learn more about Bouwers and her work by visiting her website at cindybouwers.com.
