"FREEDOM" Time-lapse of an Eagle Painting amazing art Cinnamon Cooney

Plunge Original painting of a Horse swimming in water and waves By Cinnamon Cooney

Plunge is an original painting by Cinnamon Cooney 24x36. available $864.00

This dramatic painting of a Horse Swimming in deep green water evokes complicated feelings. This is acrylic on canvas and is the first of the 2015 swimming horses.  I hope to show the viewer something new they have not seen or felt before. 

"Fluid" Bucephalus is called. Horse swimming in blue water

"Fluid" The Bucephalus mythos. The Swimming Horse is explored by Cinnamon Cooney. The horse as hero continues as he is called to adventure. Leaving behind the earth beneath his feet and plunging into the depths of the unknown. He becomes different and evident as great by this act of bold confrontation.
I am walking hand in hand. Pushing my ideas of painting methods and seeking out new process. I am working confidently trusting my judgement and enjoying the results. I am blessed beyond all reason in my calling. To paint and tell visual stories. World building and content creation. Each piece stands alone but fills in the puzzle for the rest. Painting these underwater horses is transformative!
20x16  Beveled edge canvas No framing $320

"Choir" 24X30 acrylic on Canvas Horses running in the waves. Wild ponies of the outer banks

"Choir" 24X30 acrylic on Canvas. Horses swimming and running in crashing waves. My newest work in The  Bucephalus series. In the history of exploration and expansion you can see a hoof print. 400 years ago the plans of mice and Spain left behind on remote desolate costal shores a legacy.  The Corolla wild horses on the outer banks. They have survived storms, drought, and the encroachment of modern life. The bloodline of their ancestors still show from their forelocks to flanks. These transplants border on being magical even mythical. Perfect muses for the stages of the Heroic Journey. This is the stage known as crossing the threshold which these amazing beings surely have done.At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values. I hope I have given you a moment to think of the courage and tenacity of these brave survivors. You can learn more about what inspired me so deeply at The Corolla Wild Horse Fund.  Available $720

 

" Decent " Horse falling into waves by Cinnamon Cooney

" Decent " The final state in the Bucephalus series. The unnerving image of a horse falling into waves. At the end of the heroic journey or quest our hero faces the final test giving all and becoming purified. The central figure surrenders and the polarities are resolved. Even though my subject's  greatest fear is faced it is through the fall that rebirth is possible. In the way our falls and tribulations when survived lift us back up to a greater calling. One of the elements I looked for in this piece was how to convey this dichotomy but show the viewer the hope of uncertain future redemption.  It is from the ocean that life and hope will spring.The water that flows here has been here as witness to the legends of earth.  I have left the viewer the freedom to resolve the events.  While the painting remains in a state of unknown conclusion. That way the place the onlooker is currently living creates a new experience of the painting.               Sold

Hey whats with all the Horses? A tesimony for Bucephalus

Hey whats with all the Horses? Here is the deal and why you will be seeing an equine subject matter. BUCEPHALUS! Growing up a pigtail flying, oat eating, galloping girl I lived horses. The legend of all legends was of course the great and first heroic horse Bucephalus. As amazing as his rider Alexander the great and the beginning of both their legends are entwined in each other. He is as legendary as Excaliber is to Aurther. Horse as legend and hero has been a long subject in human history. They are our more noble nature. A horse will race so determined to win that its heart will explode in its chest. They fight our wars with us and die along side us. 8 million died in WWI alone. 3000 died in Gettysburg.
There have been legendary horses throughout the west. The hero's of our past had amazing steads as brave and sternly made. The Race track is full of legends. The sport of kings is actually ruled by horses bigger than the sport itself. Horses care about the game. Watch the line up out the gate and see them stare each other down. I plan to take the next year and do several pieces about this. I am thinking to do at least 10 very large scale and powerful works. I will also continue to enter shows locally and nationally. I will be keeping you up on this subject. All the work will be for sale. Also I will be filming and posting speed paints of my larger works. It is going to be an exciting time. The year of the Horse!

Schrodingers Breasts and deep fried Art Twinkies Horse swimming and running in the crashing waves by Cinnamon Cooney

 A beautiful crashing wave crest above a horse dancing in the water."Surge" 60X60 acrylic. This is painting number 60 too. Painting #60 so at least I can say its been a productive few months. I am knee deep in due paying. Knee deep, possibly hip deep. Do I want to pull the rip cord and start churning out rainbow colored paths with umbrella covered lovers kissing???? they will sell yesss... should I ......maybe?!! NOT. Mostly because I am stubborn as hell. Also because I am honest in my life and my art. So have I taken the two MOST passe' subjects in art and dug in my heals???? Yea I might have done. I mean its horses and oceans. Art wise its is like frying a Twinkie. However if you look, its more its a lot more. Will I cave and start toning down the colors and deliver something more packaged for the audience. Hahaha HELL NO. I am going to paint more. I do this because there is something meaningful and transcendent for me here.
This piece with a subject full of conflict still remains peaceful and even restful. In real life the only way you might see a horse in waves this big is if he fell of the boat and swam in. Even then he is a wet angry super pissed off horse . Horse people feel free to laugh now.
This is about the balancing act of life. How riding the tidal surges, the forces out of my control, is the beauty in the experience. I just recently found a lump in my breast and wow what a implosion that was. I had to exist in this place of being and not being. Cancer limbo waiting for tests So I could go about being normal again or get about the business of being sick. Until my tests I was neither well or sick. My breasts were in Schrodingers box now. I feel real happiness is being safe and sheltered. Having the ones you love safe and sheltered the rest is just decor. Now my real fundamental happiness got threatened. 
The idea for this next series of paintings and in particular this one came out of that moment. Finding the lump to discovering the nature of the lump was all put into this piece. I believe that happiness is a practice and a choice. Through this that belief was sorely tested. I am happy to say I am cancer free. The lump was just a lump.  I am back to blissful ignorance about my own mortality. Out of that came "Surge" which sums it all up for me. It informs my direction artistically. Life is beautiful. It is a privilege to be here. To tell my little stories in paint and to share them here. So I pay me dues and carry on because I am blessed to do so. Love you.

  SOLD

" Forces" 30 minute study #59

" Forces" This is a study. A 30 minute paint sketch for a large piece I am thinking about doing. Almost as big as the Stallions called Spectacle. Now that I am pulling the studio and myself into working order its important to be a professional about the work. That means research and gesture sketching. It means doing studies in paint so I may make adjustments to the final piece. This will be entered into another upcoming Juried show with the VAA. Here is the thing with juried shows. The people judging them are movers and shakers in the art world. Even if they do not put you in a show they have SEEN your work. I want to be seen and then seen again. OH sure I want to get in. But I know I have to be entering shows monthly. It will be the averages of the shows entered and then there you will be. Your galleries will find you, your buyers will find you, and your patrons will find you. You need all three. The only way to get in front of them is put yourself out there... Often. To be exposed and EXPOSED. Sometimes if you are artists telling a strange little story people have to see you a bunch of times to know they you like possibly  even LOVE you. You have to become an acquired taste to be ACQUIRED into someones collection. Right now I am paying dues in Houston then I will pay dues out of state. Then I will go to Expo NY and pay some dues (and some union dues to the guys at the loading docks of the Javits) There are miles to go before the next checkpoint. However this is ART and I know this beast. Now look at the painting. Makes a little more sense what its about now right?!!!!!???

"Unspoken" painting # 58

"Unspoken" painting # 58 30X24  on a beveled edge canvas. So this is  complicated. Yet it is very direct. I have been drilling down on  an idea creatively.  Pieces that support and explain each other while, still standing alone. I am really hoping they stand out inform each other. Thats the thing when you build a body. It builds itself like a trail of bread crumbs one leading to the next until the meaning of the whole reveals itself. In the obvious element the subjects are equine but in fact like riders they carry their true meaning. It is a saturated group. But I am  a highly saturated person. It is was always color for me. Big color and little color. During my time in the commercial world of art I spent my time in neutral chains. Never confronting the buyer with anything that might clash with their mind or their home. Subjects should be bold but unobtrusive so as to not overwhelm the sofa cushions or the residents. I remember the agent over the phone urging a lack of pink or orange. "I can't sell orange" "pink will drive away money...is it red or that horrific pink?!!!" I remember looking over the isle at Art Exo new york at the bright colors from the Israeli and Persian artist thinking wow they are living their art. Mostly east coast collectors there will concrete lofts full of light.
BUT THIS...is not that. This is a subject that is bold and meaningful to me. It may be uncomfortable and it does not fade into a background politely. In fact I have no intention about being polite about any of it. I will not be bridled or muzzled. I will do my best to create work that is meaningful and true. That is free and does what it must.

Painting is for sale $375.00 I do ship

"Spectacle" painting #57

"Spectacle" painting #57 gallery wrap 60X72 This was a physically. mentally, and emotionally demanding painting. In a very large space I am putting myself completely on display and to do that I have to paint authentically. Honestly I am proud of it. Stallions fighting if you have never seen it,  is amazing and horrifying. There is this moment when you know that you no longer factor in to what is happening. Thats you are powerless and defenseless to nature. There are things in play that have so much natural order in them that they are immutable. This painting was all of my art leading up to this moment. I chose such a large scale because I wanted to fill up the eyes and space with the moment. No small event just constructing this piece. The entire surface and side had to be prepped with absorbent ground. Studies and sketches for planning. Fluids and flows to get the dramatic water color effect. The over sketching to keep that effortless feeling of paperworks. White lining.....so much white lining. Picking the piece up on and off the easel to control drips and blown paint. Nearly passing our from blowing paint. So you see I had my own battle. It was glorious and the echo is now on canvas.
Price 1,200.00 I do ship

"Exquisite" painting #56

"Exquisite" painting #56 is a 30X40 inch on a gallery wrap canvas with 2 inch stretchers.  I used to watch my horses for hours as a girl. Just observing every twitch and step. Horse people know that horses play and talk smack with each other. They dance and toss their heads celebrating the sheer awesomeness of being Equine. They know they are powerful. They believe they are faster than wind. I have seen a horse race a gust of leaves and then celebrate his victory over his unseen rival. This piece is about capturing the pure joy horses feel in being themselves!

price $550.00 we do ship

"Synopsis" painting #55

"Synopsis" painting #55 Today it was my MIL Linda who created the topic. Truth being told I was not a good commercial artist. She was looking for a cross with sunflowers and long story short that did not work out. It happens to me from time to time that I go completely off the reservation. This was my Achilles heal as a young hopeful money making  artist. When I was fancying myself a commercial artist I would be brilliant for period of time and then the tangent would happen. You have to be honest with yourself in art. Who am I? Why do I paint and who do I paint for? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!!!!
It is the singularity of art which is both everything and nothing. I do not cure illness,  build roads, map stars, or produce food for a hungry world. I do however address a hunger that is intangible and profane.
So it was sunflowers and a butterfly. We have been to the butterfly exhibit and that really went deep for me. Seeing my kids react as if they were seeing fairies. At one point my son reacted as if he was being attacked by a fierce beast when a delicate white one drifted down to land on him. It was a wonderful day and that was a residue I was still feeling. It all steeps in!

"Sherpa" painting #54 My self Portrait

"Sherpa" painting #54 well she's done...or I am done. This was my self portrait or art Selfie. Artists, we have to do these. Its a rule unwritten, but everyone knows along the way you have to paint yourself. Everything I paint is a self portrait because my viewpoint effects the outcome so deeply. I am not one of those artists that takes myself out of the work. In fact I tend to get more rooted into it each passing piece. This particular painting is very personal. How I feel about sharing art with others, how I feel about the process of painting, and how I love the world around me is totally exposed here. Which to me is a success. I pulled together everything I have been looking at the previous 53 paintings. The things that have been important to me in the creative process are here. In fact I feel a little bled out from it. The internal space I have of finishing the piece and putting the brush in water had strong shades of how I felt after labor. It is relief and happiness all stirred up. It helped me with my artist statement and It is it's canvas sister. They reflect well of each other. I hope you love it as much as I do....however thats not the point anymore because I love her. I really do.

Artist Statement Cinnamon Cooney

It is from an a highly emotional and sentimental space that my experience is fostered. I fabricate  from a whimsical inner narrative. As I observe my objective world  I overlay it with a visual subtext of the true meanings of things as I see them. This entertaining inner exposure is what I try to capture in my work. My themes focus on the essential complexion of the living world  rarely acknowledging the industrial dystopian nature of modern living. A persistent tapestry of fanciful elements that implies an undercurrent of hopefulness and optimism. Even when the pools of a darker nature is explored a presence of buoyant quirkiness  remains. The resilience of the natural world, its persistence to survive and overcome is explored. It is through my art that I share my fundamental optimism in the magical nature of living and  divine struggle toward joy.
My art DNA was developed in the cradle of the southwest. It is imbued with vista's and mesa's populated by natures greatest hits. As a child I soaked myself in horse drinking troughs marinating in the influence of an equine world. I spent thousand of miles on Americas most amazing horse trails. Around campfires my ears burned with songs and legends of the west, of native american spirits, and the battle of good and evil that is west. I cut my teeth on artists like Deigo Rivera, Freda Kahlo, R.C. Gorman, Pena, Pablita Concho, Fredrick Remington, and Beatrice Woods. In college I tempered and honed my vision with the influence of the flip side of American history. Attending  Prairie View A&M introduced me to another set of hero's and villains. I committed to preserving an eyes and heart wide open policy. There the histories of slave trade through the great African American poets, writers, and artist mixed with my romanticized view of the world. I was profoundly effect by the artwork of John T. Biggers, Jean-Micheal Basquiat, and Pearl Fryer. This influenced me to examine myself to the deepest level of my own meaning in a world capable of great injustice and beauty. I embraced the need for my own journey as an ordinary hero and purveyor of a beautiful truth. To tell stories that are moving and woven with all of the vigor I can muster. To shine a light into what was and what will be. To value as sacred the world around me and the beings living in its shelter.
I am a painter. My works are acrylic on canvas. I find that painting is a medium that has been thoroughly explored. Therefore I am driven to do my art with both craftsmanship and innovation. I avail myself of wide variety of tools, gels, mediums, and art techniques. I refer to this as my toy box. Sandbox time and embracing space outside of my comfort zone has been directing my paintings. Many of my techniques are experimental. I approach each piece as if it is a game and my tools are toys that I may explore  outside of the shadow of success and failure models. When approached as play what appears to be accidental is in fact an expression of a very intimate experience with my creation. I leave myself open to the possibilities of each creation but yet a participant in every element.  It is my goal to leave the viewer with the experience of having come across a moment of exposed truthful exploration from an internal anecdote.

"Pippi" painting #53

So doing the daily Spit paints to get back into a daily groove. We are given a topic and 30 minutes. Todays topic was Pippi Longstocking. I thought alot how as a children character she is always young. However were she real the she would eventually succumb to time like the rest of us. But, she is Pippi after all so fading into the walls would not be her style. This is my Take on that story line

"Thunderstruck" painting #52 6-11-2014

"Thunderstruck" painting #52 this one also started out as a spit paint. It was super rough to get something in under my 30 minute wire. However I am getting things done. This little clown as written a check he can not cash. Its a pretty complicated piece to do small. I might have been more comfortable to focus on a smaller amount of the story or go bigger on my canvas. However I am sick today and pretty stressed so I think once again my inner world leaks out.

"Executioner" painting #51

"Executioner" painting #51 I went ahead and finished the idea I posted for SP. The topic today was Owl executioner. Lots of clever stuff went up and I think this fit right in. I was pretty tickled at the idea of the cat in the owls eyes. This narrative of something greater that what we see in the boundaries of the painting is one of my favorite things to get into. Fundamentally I am taking myself and the viewer on a little trip. I live and breathe emotion. How we feel about things and the story mortal eyes may not see behind it. I enjoyed the challenge of illuminating the owl sinking, horrified, and horrified experience but still leaving room for the humor in the moment. I mean we feel like he can just go. I want to make the viewer mentally sweat the owls escape. Of course their will always be a viewer or two who will cheer for the cat. This one is for my story tellers out there.

"Flying" painting #50

"Flying" painting #50 This was part of a Spit Paint you may or may not have seen posted. SP is getting back me to full daily and more status. However once I posted this at its 30 minute cutoff I went a head and finished it to my satisfaction. This was my sons hand holding a car up and making it fly. I wanted to give the painting a visible emotion of Spyder's experience with his cars. Really all boys experience with cars. The challenge today had a topic of Beetle in the air. I like how someone else picking the topic causes me to be more creative. to be honest posting next to professional artist at Pixar, Disney, and Henson. Not to mention big game studios lights a fore under ones butt NOT to phone it in. I think my first attempt was rocky but this here I am truly proud of. Also after gallery hopping with my friend Matt I because aware by osmosis there is not a lot of art for the male sensibility. It had gotten me to thinking about my son and husband and wondering how much of what I am doing here in my little art bubble reflects them. For me this is a success and has left me with a happy heart!