Oil Painting
And the Child Grew © 2010 Cynthia Dye
During the years I was raising small children – and not keeping up with technology – a vastness of change and advances in photo equipment left me far behind. It was like learning a new language when I made the plunge into the new world with my first digital camera. I'm not a gadget person (the fewer the buttons, the better) so I simply wanted to know how to put the thing on manual and continue in my old ways. Struggling to figure out where I wanted to go with art, I decided to change lanes and give painting some attention. A brush and paint were what I needed, not all these complicated computerized gizmos that were taking over! I turned to Anne Marie Oborn, a master artist, who supplied me with everything I needed, including gracious encouragement, and after several painting sessions I went home with the first portrait painting since my school days, titled And the Child Grew. An exciting new door had opened for me! Eventually, instead of feeling I had to focus my energies in one area or another, I came to peace with the realization nobody was making me choose. I could enjoy many art forms, which I do (even the one with buttons).
Illustration
My children (with a little help from me) wrote some whimsical stories that became a series called "Dye-agram Books." But what children's book doesn't need pictures to go along with the words! What were we to do? As my children were selling these books door to door for $1.00 each (and they cost $1.20 to produce), we could hardly afford to pay someone to illustrate them. So we'd simply have to do the job ourselves. We tried, the kids with drawings and I with photography. But nothing was working out. One day when my loyal artist friend, Anne Marie Oborn, was visiting I explained our dilemma. She sat down at the kitchen table with her arms folded and declared she was not budging until I had drawn three pictures. At that point, my husband peeked up over his newspaper with a look of this could be long night, for it was plain to see that Anne Marie wasn't joking. To my amazement one, then two, then three fun little images emerged! How did I do that! I attribute it to her (and heaven above). The pictures may not be much, but really now, you gotta love 'em, don't ya?
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Lucy Likes Clouds
A Dye-agram Book 
Up in the mountains what does she see?
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