Poway resident and artist wins 2023 San Diego Watercolor Society exhibition

Local artist and Poway resident Cynthia Roach recently won the Best of Miniatures Award from the San Diego Watercolor Society.

The 2023 member’s exhibition “Decisive Moments” featured hundreds of hand-painted pieces and a highly competitive selection process for winners, organizers said.

Roach’s painting, titled “Safe Haven,” was selected out of 230 submissions by prominent local artist Richard Glassman.

“This particular painting, I was thinking of a tree house high in the sky. I sometimes name my painting so I have an idea of the direction I want to go in,” Roach said.

Glassman said in a press release, ‘’An awareness of the medium makes this abstraction an exciting visual experience.”

Roach graduated from Cleveland Institute of Art, earning a Bachelor of Fine Art in industrial design with a graphics minor.

“I’ve always been interested in the visual arts,” she said. “After graduating, I had a lot of art-related jobs. But I started taking watercolor classes in 2006 with Nancy Oleksa, Poway artist, and it’s been a continuing fun learning process with this versatile medium.”

Roach dabbles in various forms of art, but said watercolor is her favorite. Roach said she enjoys a vast array of subject matter and constantly looks for new inspiration in her everyday life.

She browses the web for ideas from artists, looking at magazines, going to galleries and getting outside to take photos, sketch or doodle, she said.

Outside of the “Decisive Moments” exhibition, the San Diego Watercolor Society does work across the county to bring life and attention to watercolor as an art form. With a board of members dedicated to water-based media, the society educates and preserves artwork through classes and various exhibitions throughout the year at the gallery, at 2825 Dewey Road in Point Loma.

“The San Diego Watercolor Society is a great place to see a variety of art and for water media artists to display and sell their work at monthly exhibitions,” Roach said. “Artists of all levels can learn and grow with like-minded people with full programs of activities and workshops.”

After “Decisive Moments” concludes, the San Diego Watercolor Society will host several more 2023 member exhibitions, including “Blooming thoughts” in April, “Climate of Change” in May and “Color Scheming” in June.

Information on exhibits, other “Decisive Moments” pieces and more can be found at https://www.sdws.org/shows.php?ID=24 .