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Cynthia Camlin

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Boneyard/Bloom

With the theme of coral life and death, Boneyard is composed of six paintings that together form the image of bleached coral as a massive white sepulchral form. Bloom is an ongoing series of paintings and drawings that layer abstraction and description to evoke the fertility and growth of coral reef systems.

Boneyard
Boneyard

watercolor, Flashe, acrylic, on paper mounted on 6 panels, 46”h x 94”w, 2017

Boneyard (detail)
Boneyard (detail)

watercolor, Flashe, acrylic, on paper mounted on 6 panels, 46”h x 94”w, 2017

Boneyard (detail)
Boneyard (detail)

watercolor, Flashe, acrylic, on paper mounted on 6 panels, 46”h x 94”w, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, large paper 2)
Untitled (Bloom, large paper 2)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 34"h x 26"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 7)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 7)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 3)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 3)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 4)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 4)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 2)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 2)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 1)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 1)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 5)
Untitled (Bloom, medium paper 5)

Flashe, acrylic on paper mounted on panel, 26"h x 19"w with frame, 2017

Small Bloom 1
Small Bloom 1

Flashe, acrylic on panel, 8"h x 8"w, 2017

Small Bloom 2
Small Bloom 2

Flashe, acrylic on panel, 8"h x 8"w, 2017

Waterland

A group of 21 small watercolors mounted on panels, Water Fragment appears mismatched, as if the relationship of its parts were provisional. Beneath the grid-like structure, transparent watercolor brings depth and fluidity. The subject of Island of Ought and Naught is a tiny island off the coast of Iceland where the last great auk was captured and killed. Elizabeth Kolbert compares the island, in The Sixth Extinction, to “the base of an enormous column" with guano from seabirds that give it “what looks like a coating of vanilla frosting”. In Enez Glas, the cobbled forms of islands erode and dissolve in an expansive pictorial space of watery floodplain.  Inspired by walks on Fir Island in the Skagit river delta, the scene is one of water reclaiming land in a fragile, shifting environment.

Water Fragment
Water Fragment

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 40”h x 75”, 2015

Water Fragment (detail),
Water Fragment (detail),

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 40”h x 75”, 2015

Island of Ought and Naught
Island of Ought and Naught

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 54”h x 75”, 2015

Island of Ought and Naught (detail)
Island of Ought and Naught (detail)

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 54”h x 75”, 2015

Island of Ought and Naught (detail)
Island of Ought and Naught (detail)

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 54”h x 75”, 2015

Island of Ought and Naught (detail)
Island of Ought and Naught (detail)

watercolor on paper mounted on panels, 54”h x 75”, 2015

Enez Glas
Enez Glas

Divided Earth

Finished in the aftermath of a major calving of Jakobshavn glacier in western Greenland, Divided Earth presents the ice shelf of a marine glacier as if it were the architecture of an immense skyline, crowding the picture plane. The whole work is 18 paintings in three groupings of six. Pattern, repetition and stability are undermined by cracks, slippage, and sections that appear to be teetering on the verge of collapse.

Divided Earth 1
Divided Earth 1

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 2
Divided Earth 2

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 3
Divided Earth 3

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 1 (detail)
Divided Earth 1 (detail)

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 1 (detail)
Divided Earth 1 (detail)

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 2 (detail)
Divided Earth 2 (detail)

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 3 (detail)
Divided Earth 3 (detail)

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 3 (detail)
Divided Earth 3 (detail)

polymer emulsion on 6 panels, 78"h x 75"w, 2016

Divided Earth 1, 2, 3
Divided Earth 1, 2, 3

polymer emulsion on 18 panels, 6 1/2'h x 19'w, 2016

Divided Earth 1
Divided Earth 1

installation, 2016

Divided Earth 2
Divided Earth 2

installation, 2016

Divided Earth 3
Divided Earth 3

installation, 2016

Vibrant Material

Landscapes are repeatedly formed and deformed through time. We live on a brittle crust of earth that is continually moving and changing – most of the time very slowly – because the brittle surface is moving in and out of a more ductile, flexible layer where rocks bend instead of break.

Vibrant Material 1
Vibrant Material 1

watercolor onscreen print on paper, 22” x 30”, 2013

Vibrant Material 2
Vibrant Material 2

Watercolor onscreen print on paper, 22” x 30”, 2013

Vibrant Material 3
Vibrant Material 3

watercolor onscreen print on paper, 22” x 30”, 2013

Angle of Repose
Angle of Repose

vinyl polymer emulsion on panel, 48" x  36”, 2014

Sedimentary Structure 1
Sedimentary Structure 1

vinyl polymer emulsion on panel, 24" x 18", 2014

Sedimentary Structure 2
Sedimentary Structure 2

vinyl polymer emulsion on panel, 24" x 18", 2014

Cracked Prospects

In Cracked Prospects, figures of the picturesque -- the remote landscape, the broad vista, moments of luminous transparency -- are broken and abstracted. Ice is imagined as an organization of grids, structures undermined from below or within by melt and movement. The watercolors in Subglacial present the emblematic image of a polar ice shelf as interlocking grids, rigid structures undermined by melt and movement. In Melt Marine, thick chunks of ice or land are floating into or out of the picture plane. With both the large oil paintings on canvas and small studies on panels, oil glazes are layered over screen prints of maps of a glacier.

Cracked Prospect 1
Cracked Prospect 1

acrylic and vinyl polymer emulsion on canvas, 44” x 60”, 2013

Cracked Prospect 3
Cracked Prospect 3

acrylic and vinyl polymer emulsion on canvas, 44” x 60”, 2013

Subglacial 1
Subglacial 1

watercolor on paper, 15.5” x 22”, 2012

Subglacial 2
Subglacial 2

watercolor and vinyl polymer emulsion on paper, 22” x 30”, 2012

Subglacial 5
Subglacial 5

watercolor and vinyl polymer emulsion on paper, 22” x 30”, 2012

Subglacial 6
Subglacial 6

watercolor and vinyl polymer emulsion on paper, 22” x 30”, 2012

Melt Marine 1
Melt Marine 1

oil on screen print on canvas, 44" x 60", 2011

Melt Marine 2
Melt Marine 2

oil on screen print on canvas, 44" x 60", 2011

Melt Marine Study 3
Melt Marine Study 3

oil on screen print on paper, 18" x 24", 2011

Melt Marine Study 1
Melt Marine Study 1

oil on screen print on paper, 18" x 24", 2011

Melt Marine Study 2
Melt Marine Study 2

oil on screen print on paper, 18" x 24", 2011

Glacial Speed

"Glacial speed" is the epitome of slowness, the idea of imperceptible change, imperceptible movement, like geological time, a time that is too slow for short-lived humans to watch. But with ice sheets disintegrating, icebergs breaking off and flipping, the speed of glaciers melting has progressed from the imperceptible to the perceptible, from the apparently timeless into human time. Glacial Speed interprets the changing topography of a shrinking glacier as if from above. Eighty screen prints of a mapped glacier are hand-painted with watercolor washes and abstracted forms to suggest phases of change. A video with sound from glacier events connects the stills in succession.

Glacial Speed, 21-32
Glacial Speed, 21-32

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 24-31
Glacial Speed, 24-31

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 35-42
Glacial Speed, 35-42

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 35-46
Glacial Speed, 35-46

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 47-54
Glacial Speed, 47-54

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 47-58
Glacial Speed, 47-58

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 59-66
Glacial Speed, 59-66

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 59-70
Glacial Speed, 59-70

2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Glacial Speed, 67-74
Glacial Speed, 67-74

, 2010, watercolor on screen print on paper, each 22” x 30”

Cascadia

Cascadia is a series of watercolors imagining buoyant worlds of water, ice, and earth. Gigantic underbellies with slivers of iceberg above: the disproportion of top and bottom are so extreme as to be untenable.

Cascadia 2
Cascadia 2

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 3
Cascadia 3

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 4
Cascadia 4

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 12
Cascadia 12

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 13
Cascadia 13

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 14
Cascadia 14

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 15
Cascadia 15

2010, 22” x 28”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 16
Cascadia 16

2010, 30” x 22”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 17
Cascadia 17

2010, 30” x 22”, watercolor on paper

Cascadia 18
Cascadia 18

2010, 30” x 22”, watercolor on paper

Extremities

The works in the series Extremities use watercolor, ink, and acrylic paint, combining chance procedures and different mark-making strategies to build images of melting icebergs. I was interested in the psychological metaphor of the iceberg: all that we know is just the tip of the iceberg. Hidden below the surface, the unknown is like the unconscious, the suppressed or avoided.

Small Melted 1
Small Melted 1

2009-12, 60” x 40” framed, watercolor on paper

 

Small Melted 2
Small Melted 2

2009-12, 60” x 40” framed, watercolor on paper

Melted 4
Melted 4

2008, 60” x 52”, watercolor, acrylic on paper

Melted 5
Melted 5

2008, 60” x 52”, watercolor, ink, acrylic on paper

Melted 6
Melted 6

2008, 60” x 52”, watercolor, ink on paper

Melted 10
Melted 10

2008, 60” x 52”, watercolor, ink on paper

My Swelling Heart 1
My Swelling Heart 1

2004, 7” x 5”, watercolor on paper

My Swelling Heart 2
My Swelling Heart 2

2004, 8.5” x 8”, watercolor on paper

My Swelling Heart 3
My Swelling Heart 3

2004, 7” x 3 3/4”, watercolor on paper

Grottos

In Multigrid and the Grotto series, crystalline forms and patterns are layered on paper, panels and wall drawings. The study of minerals and geology opened a pathway into abstraction.

Oval Grotto
Oval Grotto

2006, 18” x 12”, watercolor on paper

Burnt Grotto
Burnt Grotto

2006, 18” x 12” watercolor on paper

Grotto Warm & Cool
Grotto Warm & Cool

2007, 18” x 12” watercolor on paper

Grotto Lump 4
Grotto Lump 4

2005, 18” x 12” watercolor on paper

Grotto Lump 5
Grotto Lump 5

2005, 18” x 12”, watercolor on paper

Grotto Lump 6
Grotto Lump 6

2005, 18” x 12” watercolor on paper

Grotto Tower
Grotto Tower

2007, 18” x 12” watercolor on paper

Grotto Crush 1
Grotto Crush 1

2010, watercolor on paper, 22” x 28”

Grotto Crush 2
Grotto Crush 2

2010, watercolor on paper, 28” x 22”

Mail Grotto
Mail Grotto

, 2006, 18” x 12” watercolor, varnish on folded paper

Grotto of the Exclamation
Grotto of the Exclamation

2005, 36” x 48”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Gulf Grotto
Gulf Grotto

2005, 24” x 36”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Grotto Chain
Grotto Chain

2005, 18” x 60”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Snowy Grotto
Snowy Grotto

2005, 32” x 32”, watercolor, acrylic, oil on panel

8-Hour Grotto
8-Hour Grotto

in 8-Hour Drawings, Allegheny College Galleries, Meadville, PA, 2007

8-Hour Grotto process
8-Hour Grotto process

in 8-Hour Drawings, Allegheny College Galleries, Meadville, PA, 2007

Multigrid no. 1
Multigrid no. 1

2010, 21" x 34", oil, watercolor on panel

Multigrid no. 2
Multigrid no. 2

2010, 17" x 21", oil, watercolor on panel

 

Multigrid no. 3
Multigrid no. 3

2010, 28" x 24", oil, watercolor on panel

Multigrid no. 6
Multigrid no. 6

2010, 10" x 20", oil, watercolor on panel

Open Monad

In Open Monad I made paintings of crystallized forms onto multiple facets of 3-d forms. For the larger pieces I constructed a 4’ x 4’ cube with plywood faces, then cut 6 new volumes out of it, oblique irregular volumes, and made each object into multi-sided paintings.

Open Monad, Sections 1, 2, 4
Open Monad, Sections 1, 2, 4

2005-7, dimensions variable, watercolor on wood structures

Open Monad, Section 1
Open Monad, Section 1

, 2005, longest side 48”, watercolor on wood structure

Open Monad, Section 3
Open Monad, Section 3

2006, longest side 48”, watercolor on wood structure

Open Monad, Section 4
Open Monad, Section 4

2007, longest side 48”, watercolor on wood structure

Open Monad, Section 5
Open Monad, Section 5

2007, longest side 48”, watercolor on wood structure

Small Open Monad 4 and 5
Small Open Monad 4 and 5

2005, 6” x 6” x 6”, watercolor on wood cubes

Open Monad, Section 3
Open Monad, Section 3

carried by artist, 2006

Prospects

In Prospects, human and animal figures navigate through scenic areas ands suburban developments in panoramic watercolor and ink wash drawings on panels and paper. Beautiful as they are, the grand views of the Western landscape tradition responded to nostalgia for "wilderness" and were made to appeal to those of us who profited from its destruction. 

A Hole in the Heart 1
A Hole in the Heart 1

2003, 5’ x 18”, ink, watercolor on panel

A Hole in the Heart 2
A Hole in the Heart 2

2003, 5’ x 18”, ink, watercolor on panel

Episodic Views 1-4
Episodic Views 1-4

2000-02, dimensions variable, ink, watercolor on panels

Episodic Views 1 (detail)
Episodic Views 1 (detail)

2000, 7 ¼” x 66”, ink, watercolor on panel

Episodic Views 3 (detail)
Episodic Views 3 (detail)

2002, 7 ¼” x 77”, ink, watercolor, oil on panel

Episodic Views 4 (detail)
Episodic Views 4 (detail)

2002, 7 ¼” x 50”, ink, watercolor on panel

Lineage
Lineage

1999, 13” x 96”, watercolor on paper

Lineage (detail)
Lineage (detail)

1999, 13” x 96”, watercolor on paper

Bounded Abyss
Bounded Abyss

1999, 24” x 66”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Largesse
Largesse

1999, 24” x 66”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Nature Gives, Takes, Gives Back Again
Nature Gives, Takes, Gives Back Again

1999, 7” x 33”, watercolor on paper

Creatures

In these ink and watercolor wash drawings on panels, I was trying to participate in the allure and the mythology of Romantic and Western painting, but also expose its underbelly, how we project onto other beings our own longing or guilt. 

Quaint Customs 3
Quaint Customs 3

2004, 24” x 30”, watercolor on panel

Quaint Customs 2
Quaint Customs 2

2003, 48” x 60”, watercolor on panel

Hinterland
Hinterland

2003, 84” x 48”, watercolor on panel

Hinterland (detail)
Hinterland (detail)

2003, 84” x 48”, watercolor on panel

Materialization of the Love Object
Materialization of the Love Object

Materialization of the Love Object, 2002, 28” x 24”, watercolor on panel

Obsolete
Obsolete

2003, 7 3/4” x 10 3/4”, watercolor on paper

Solo
Solo

2003, 7 3/4” x 10 3/4”, watercolor on paper

The Thing Behind the Thing Behind the Thing, No. 3
The Thing Behind the Thing Behind the Thing, No. 3

2002, 28” x 24”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

The Thing Behind the Thing Behind the Thing, No. 2
The Thing Behind the Thing Behind the Thing, No. 2

2000, 48” x 48”, watercolor, acrylic on panel

Old Growth
Old Growth

1999, 13” diameter, ink, watercolor on panel

Faun
Faun

1999, 7” diameter, oil on panel

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Boneyard/Bloom
Water Fragment
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Waterland
Divided Earth 1
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Divided Earth
Vibrant Material 1
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Vibrant Material
Cracked Prospect 1
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Cracked Prospects
Glacial Speed, 21-32
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Glacial Speed
Cascadia 2
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Cascadia
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Extremities
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Grottos
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Open Monad
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Prospects
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Creatures