I was born in Cali, Colombia. Colombia is a South American country that is bordered in the northwest by Panama, in the east by Venezuela and to the south by Peru and Ecuador. I am the second daughter of a family of 5 sisters and 4 brothers. My parents were both artists of different backgrounds. My father, was well-known as a visual artist in Latin America and internationally. He was the founder of the School of Visual Arts within Belles Artes, the Institute of Fine Arts in Cali. The Institute was founded by Maestro Antonio Maria Valencia a pianist and composer who trained in Paris in the 1920s. He was an amazing talent in the history of Colombian music who deserves more international recognition for his compositions. Maestro Valencia invited my father who had also recently returned from studies in Paris which included a stint at L’Academie Julien during la Belle Époque to join him in expanding the Institute to include the Visual Arts.
Painting was my first love. I have vivid memories that stretch back to when I was as young as three years old sitting in a small chair close to my father, fascinated, watching him mix the colors and pigments in his palette. I was very quiet and sometimes he did not notice that I was there until walking backwards to take in his painting at a distance he would bump into me, surprised and worried that I was still there. “My love!” he said, “I did not know that you were still here. Go and play! And later you can come back.” I did as he told me and then returned to my chair after 5 minutes. So, he got used to having me there watching him painting all of the time. There were many portraits, watercolors or sometimes commissions for other people. As I grew I entertained my younger siblings with the skills that I picked up from my father and taught them to draw and color well enough to win art contests for youngsters in the city parks.
Both my parents were liberal thinkers and those values extended to the education of their children. My father would be away from the house at times staying for three months to work on a mural or a series of portraits usually in the Colombian capital of Bogota. Because we lived out in the country side the children’s education would be in the hands of a tutor. I loved that tutor. Every day we would work on painting, dance, choral singing, literature, poetry and theatre. We got a complete arts education. And my mother in spite of the responsibilities of a large family found time to read to us. She loved poetry, amongst others, that of Walt Whitman. It made for a delightful childhood.
Back from Colombia in 1981 after returning from living in Canada and Sweden, I had as the daughter of the founder of the Institute of Fine Arts easy access to the classes. I dedicated the time that I could spare from my work as a piano teacher to painting and assisted workshops with the internationally known artists Oscar Muñoz, Cristina Llano and Liliana Duran. Duran was especially influential in my development as an artist. She introduced her students first to contemporary art instead of the study of drawing that is the basis of most traditional academic programs. We worked on installations and large paintings experimenting with different techniques and materials. Emotions and big gestures were encouraged. I believe that gave me freedom and moved me towards my current mode of expression in my art.
In the last decade I joined the Visual Arts Society of Texas’ Critique group in Denton Texas. I have been working with the group under the direction of Millie Giles, professor and artist from the University of North Texas. Professor Giles has been my mentor since I joined. I value greatly what I have learned from her and her support for my work. I am motivated by her appreciation and her very instructive criticism of the work of other members of the group. I have participated in several group exhibitions at different galleries in Denton as well as exhibitions in Cali, Colombia.
- Rosario Cudney