Q & A with Cynthia Colosimo

1. When do you like to draw and paint (time of day, day of week)? Where do you do your artwork (location)?

I like to start creative projects early in the day because the light is best then (and my brain works best then), especially on a sunny day, but once I really get into a project I will work on it all hours and ignore the housework and most everything else.

I do my artwork on the dining room table. I also do my sewing and crafts there, so the table has to be cleared of one activity before the next one can start.

2. What was your first illustration in print (in a book, magazine, or article, etc)?

I did my very first illustration when I was in high school. It was for a poster for a dinner-dance. I did an Art Deco drawing of a couple dancing across a dinner plate. Very stylish.

3. What other jobs have you had besides being an illustrator?

I work on community heritage projects most of the time nowadays. I worked in a flower shop when I first finished university. I like painting flowers, especially wildflowers.

4. Who is your favourite artist(s)?

I like Holbein’s portrait drawings. They’re very simple, but you really feel the personality come through. I also like the expressive line of Egon Schiele’s drawings. My favourite Newfoundland and Labrador artists are David Blackwood and Boyd Chubbs. They both evoke a strong sense of place and the mystery of the place in their prints.

5. What was your favourite illustrated book(s) when you were a child?

I was always a big fan of Rupert the Bear and Ferdinand the Bull. I read a lot of older books with colour-plate illustrations in them. I really like the style of early 20^th century watercolour illustrations.

6. What do you like to do in your free time?

Read, watch movies, and make crafts.

7. What kind of music do you listen to?

My i-Pod says that this week my favourites are Zero 7 and Amy Winehouse.

8. What is your favourite food?

Italian food, any kind.

9. What city/country would you most like to visit and why?

London to see all the museums—or Italy for the food and more museums.

10. Make a question of your own and then answer it.

Did you always want to be an illustrator?

I think so, but for a while I wanted to be a costume designer. With illustration, you get to design the costumes as well as telling a story. I like the process of creating a visual character out of the words of the story. When I was young I always tried to imagine what it was like living in the time and place of the stories I was reading.