CSFOA Annual Scholarship Winner (2013)

My name is Cynthia Grillo and I was born in Coral Springs, Florida on April 13, 1995. I have lived in Coral Springs all my life and I attended Ramblewood Elementary, Coral Springs Christian Academy for my middle school and first half of my high school, and JP Taravella High for my last two years of high school. I came from a very artistic family, with my dad being a graphic designer and my mother doing jewelry as a hobby.

What Art Means to Me and My Future

Since I was a child I knew that I could cultivate my skills effectively as an artist. I practiced every day hours on end knowing that if I tried long enough, my work could look professional. I spent time making amateur drawings of dragons, animals, and fantastic creatures. Now I am pursuing a career in art, undaunted by how troubling the industry has been as of late. I receive inspiration from typical things: movies, music, or other art works. This inspiration is what helps to enable me to make unique works of art that has faces of their own. Before every piece I sketch a thumbnail, and write down underlying themes and color schemes that makes the drawing or sculpture tie together. This helps me unify an art piece and keep the idea from becoming too trite. I try to make memorable and eye catching drawings using this simple technique. Unlike most artists, instead of spreading out my time I work hours on end until the piece is finished. This finalization fuels my esteem and makes me feel successful after every piece. Experimentation enables me to make each of my pieces different from the next and helps broaden my understanding of creation. I have had periods when I primarily worked with color pencil with charcoal, to watercolors, and now polymer clay. None of these mediums are easy ways to finish, and are very time consuming. Many of my art pieces have over thirty hours of work put into them, and every hour of work teaches me how to become a better artist. After graduating, I plan to become a concept artist for sci-fi and fantasy games, creating initial concepts for characters or creatures. This job is considered by many to be the “holy grail” of the art industry, and I am determined to pursue this as a career. I try to infuse many of my art pieces with excessive creativity and new ideas. My works are practice for my future career, and I intend to learn new techniques and skills as I go.