SEE HER WORK
PAINTBRUSHES AND PASSION
How one woman used her art to show other women their beauty. BY SLOANE WICK
BECOMING THE ARTIST
Cindy Lopez comes from a long line of artists. Her
Even Lopez’s father did everything he could to support his daughter’s creativity, bringing her the tools she needed to get her creative start. “My father worked in computers, and he would bring home these large reams of computer paper that had holes all the way down the side,” Lopez says. “My childhood was just drawing and drawing and drawing on that paper.” With all the support and passion for creativity in her family, it was no surprise when Lopez chose to pursue the arts as a career. She attended Texas State University, earning her BFA in commercial art in 1986. In the years since, her work has been displayed and sold at various galleries and public venues across Texas and California.
Photo by Robbie Lopez.
grandmother crafted hats, her mother was a sculptor and her grandfather was a self-taught painter. “I grew up…sneaking into his studio,” Lopez says with a smile. “I have all of his paintbrushes.” Lopez credits her family as her biggest supporters while she developed her artistic skills. “When I was very young, I drew a little lion…and my grandfather took that drawing and had a notepad made out of it with the lion at the top,” she says with an edge of pride in her voice. “That made me feel so special, like, ‘Oh my gosh, my work’s good enough for a notepad.’ When you’re a little kid that makes you feel great.”
66 | AUSTIN WOMAN | OCTOBER 2021
