Cynthia Jewell Pollett
Contemporary Impressionistic Oil Painter
Cynthia Jewell Pollett’s one achievement that confirmed for that she would always be an artist was a first place award in a local art show. She loved drawing and painting as a child, and was a self-taught artist at her acceptance into art college.
Cynthia heard many stories of her grandfather who struggled as a sculptor and artist during the poverty stricken days of the depression. She also grew up seeing her cousin’s work who was an award winning portrait artist, as well as other members of her family who were also portrait artist and landscape painters.
A native of Aiken, South Carolina, Cynthia has painted professionally for 35 years. She graduated from Atlanta College of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1978.
Cynthia strives to capture a quality of light and color that supports the overall impression in her paintings. Total realism is not something she strives for but to convey compositions that tell a story and have been brought to your attention by color, light and focal point. “If I have succeeded in immersing my viewer, and caused them to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, then I have accomplished my task. If I can further impress upon them a message, a memory, or a feeling, then I have gone beyond my expectations.”
Cynthia and her husband, George, have been married 45 years. They have had the blessing of raising three children and now have six beautiful grandchildren.
Cynthia’s career has included being art director for a mission in Kentucky. She then spent 20 years creating and running a successful graphic design business while her children were growing and in school.
Later in life, Cynthia and George felt called to be missionaries in China and were there for six years. While in China, Cynthia found a real need for her “art healing workshops”. She & George were forced to leave by the Chinese Government officials because they are Christian missionaries.
George and Cynthia now live in Murphy, the westernmost NC town in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Cynthia finds inspiration for many of her paintings in the beautiful Blue Ridge landscapes, both rural and country. “There is a never-ending abundance of wildflowers, as well as sunsets and greens that are so endless they can’t be counted. The culture is a fascinating additional gift to the beauty in the Blue Ridge in that the remnants of culture tell the story of the land in an interesting way. It’s always an adventure going out plein air painting or doing photography studies for paintings. It always surprises me!”
Accomplishments:
2021-2025 - Cherokee County Arts Council Board Member
2022 Solo Show - Cherokee County Arts Council Gallery, Murphy, NC
2021- Murphy Art Walk Director, Murphy, NC
2021 First Place - Silver Arts Show, Murphy, NC
2020 Second Place - Hiawassee Plein Air Paint Out, Hiawassee, GA
2020 First Place - State Silver Arts Show, Raleigh, NC
2020 First Place - Silver Arts Show, Murphy Art Center
2020 Second Place - Silver Arts Show, Murphy Art Center
2011 Best in Show - Art Trail Gallery, Flo., SC
2011 First Place - Art Trail Gallery, Flo., SC
2009 Charleston Artist Guild Gallery Member
2009 Honorable Mention - Blackbaud Art Show, Daniel Island, SC
2009 Juried into Charleston Artist Guild Exhibiting Member
2009 Juried into “Girl with a Gold Earring” Show and Competition, Charleston, SC
2008 Solo Show: Lynda English Studio and Gallery, Flo, SC
1997 Solo Show: The Florence Art Museum, Florence, SC
1996 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition: Honorable Mention, Florence Art Museum
1991 ADDY Award: Freedom Florence Brochure
1987 Outstanding Young Women in America
www.cynthiapollett.com cynthiajpollett@gmail.com 843.806.9358