Cecilia Rolando

Ely, Minnesota

Abstract and realistic acrylic and watercolor paintings, photographs, jewelry, greeting cards

I am a creative who lives in Ely, Minnesota, a half block away from where I was born. I was educated in the Ely Schools, Ely Junior College, the U of M/Duluth, and Saddleback College in California. My education was furthered by visiting some of the great world museum such as the Louvre, Prado, various Picasso and Dali museums, and Guggenheim/Venice and Bilbao. I was employed for 27 years, as Executive Director of Northern Lakes Arts Association (NLAA), which occupation was well suited for my strong connection with the Humanities and the Arts. It finally provided a direction for my life after I went through endless short-term jobs. All those mini occupations as nurse’s aide, clerk, florist, receptionist, mail carrier, etc., provided the skills needed to eventually serve as Director, which in turn strongly enhanced my creative interests. During all these years, the one constant was my need to create. It was the true focus for me, the one constant, as it remains today. I retired 10 years ago, from the NLAA job, which has provided me more time to create and teach. My motivation to make visual art comes with the materials and an intense interest in composition and color. Besides using paint, computer apps, beads, and other mediums, I am fascinated by each process they require. I greatly admire others’ work, and look to other artists for guidance, while searching constantly for my own voice. The need is to express my own take on life and share this with others through my art. I find the need to be flexible with whatever medium currently drives me. I do not limit myself in this way. I feel that using the creativity I possess in whichever medium is where my strength is. In the last few years, I have added writing poetry and have found using words a fine way for personal expression also. Others have become interested in my work and the art classes I offer. As time has passed I am now able to share my knowledge of art making with those who desire instruction. This has been a wonderful reward of the discipline of continuing to make art through all these decades.


Interpreting a right brain activity into left brain jargon is difficult. Why do I paint? I find it an uncontrollable urge. Once pulled into the ‘zone’ I begin a search for why I paint what I paint. I begin without much thought to see where I am led. Due to this approach, I also vary my mediums. I paint in acrylic and watercolor. I am less interested in sticking to one medium than using my creativity and expression in whatever medium I find interesting, or is at hand, at the time. Hence, I make mosaics, fabric pieces, jewelry, take photos, greeting cards, some sculpture, and use phone apps also. The commonality among these modes of expression is what drives their use, the use of color, texture, the varied subject matter and style. My dominant subjects are landscapes, faces, flowers and abstractions. I don’t wish to limit myself with subject choice because I have wide interests. I look to what comes from me, doing the work, as a search for meaning and discovery. Over the years I have painted and drawn hundreds of faces. Analyzing why I have determined it is an attempt to understand humanity. Being ‘face to face’ I look into the eyes of the other and search for communion. Here I have been influenced by Matisse and Picasso. I paint flowers too, and these are from a simple loving reaction to their beauty. It is nearly an uncontrollable need that I honor them with a painting. I respond to the fluid watercolors of Charles Reid. Driving through farmlands I react to those landscapes unfamiliar to where I was raised and live. The flatness of the distance attracts me and I, in interpreting these, attempt to further simplify their appearance; drawn to the works of Diebenkorn and Wolff Kahn. In my seventh decade I see tendencies to work this way as my continued preference. I paint daily and am often surprised by the images as they occur. I do not plan ahead. At this time in the world there is existing confusion. It surfaces in the work. Although I see myself always using disparate shapes, color, etc. – pulling them together to make compositional sense, I find it less easy to do so with the national discord. My recent works include some abstractions and figurative pieces. I start abstractly and desire to simply work with color and shapes. Sometimes I will stay there, and other times figures appear in the imagery and I then go with it. I find interpretations as I work.

Website: artRolando.com