By Stefan Yablonski
Riverside Artisans offers a myriad professional fine art and crafts — created by local artists. Cindy Schmidt is an original member of the group.
Q: How’d you start?
A: My painting career began in 1994 with decorative wooden signs. In 2001, I went through a rapid evolution, began painting portraits and seascapes. I’ve since settled into creating fantasy; the whimsical Cranky Cat Collection.
Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: I’ve been here from the beginning. I wasn’t one of the founding members. The day before they opened, my husband saw an ad in the paper. I brought my stuff down here. They said, ‘oh yes this is good.’ It’s a great group of people to work with.
Q: Did you have a prior job?
A: I worked for the town of Schroeppel for 20 plus years; it was in the community services department.
Q: All the same cat?
A: I look at them all as being different. People think they’re all the same, but they’re different. They have different personalities. They all look kind of similar — that’s my style, I guess.
Q: Which one is your favorite?
A: That’s tough. Usually, I’d say it was the last one I did.
Q: Has anyone commissioned you to do a painting?
A: I usually don’t. I only do them when I feel like it. When I’m using somebody else’s idea, I don’t do it the way that I’d normally. It’s easier for me to just do my own thing.
Q: How do you price your work?
A: Pretty much I set the price on a painting by how much I like it; somewhat on how long it took to complete it.
Q: How long does it take?
A: It can take six hours or so to finish a painting. It varies; I’ve tried to simplify — I can’t do it.
Q: What’s your medium?
A: I love acrylic. I actually don’t even know anything else. I’m self-taught. So, I just wing it.
Q: Do you start with a cat at the center of your work?
A: Sometimes, I use a color — and then I add a cat.
