Ct Cummins was born in Rochester, New York, in 1952. She earned her BA from Otis Parsons in 1985, where her love for painting deepened. Though she began her creative journey as an illustrator, she soon realized that her artistic instincts were drawing her in another direction. Illustration, with its focus on representation, felt limiting compared to the expressive possibilities of paint, color, and texture.
From Illustration to Painting
Over time, Cummins came to understand that her work was not about precise depiction but about evoking a mood or sensation. She became fascinated with the Impressionists and their emphasis on color and design, and she shifted her focus from representing nature realistically to suggesting its essence through atmosphere, space, and texture.
Career Beginnings
Her fine art career began in 2001 at the Wendt Gallery in Laguna Beach, California, where her paintings immediately found collectors. The early success encouraged her to pursue painting fully, and her work soon attracted attention for its rich color palettes and expressive use of design.
Cummins has drawn inspiration from masters like Van Gogh, Monet, and Bernard Cathelin, each of whom shaped her evolving voice. Yet the most transformative moment in her artistic journey came later, after relocating to Florida.
Florida and Mentorship
Living in Florida opened new opportunities for growth. Under the mentorship of David Slonim and Jeff Erickson, Cummins explored abstraction more deeply. It was during this period that she discovered oil and cold wax as her preferred medium.
This technique became a natural extension of her vision. The combination of oil and cold wax allowed her to build up luminous layers, then scrape or dig back into them, revealing the history of the canvas itself.
A Language of Color and Simplicity
Central to Cummins’s philosophy is the role of color. She views it as the catalyst for her creative expression and the most powerful element of design. In her view, art requires openness. In a chaotic world, her aim is to create a simple story through her paintings, using color as the foundation of clarity and meaning.
Her canvases become spaces of calm and reflection, where vibrant yet balanced palettes tell stories that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Impressionist Influences
Although her work is firmly rooted in abstraction today, Cummins continues to feel aligned with the Impressionists in terms of philosophy. Like them, she approaches painting as an exploration of visual relationships, color, space, and texture rather than literal description. Her art seeks to evoke an experience or atmosphere rather than replicate the physical world.
Exhibitions, Recognition, and Representation
For the past 13 years, Cummins has been represented by Stellers Gallery, where her work has evolved from traditional pieces to her current abstracts. Her paintings are included in corporate and private collections across the United States and internationally.
Her artistry has also been recognized in notable publications, including Orange Coast Magazine, Florida Design’s Art Galleries Magazine, and Arbus Magazine.
Layers of Process and Meaning
What distinguishes Cummins’s work is its layered complexity. Each painting holds within it a history multiple applications of paint and wax, marks made and later erased, surfaces obscured and rediscovered. These layers echo the passage of time and the idea that nothing is ever fully hidden; every stage contributes to the richness of the whole.
Her process demands openness. Rather than forcing the painting toward a predetermined image, she allows the materials to guide her. The resulting works carry both discipline and spontaneity, structure and fluidity.
Conclusion
Ct Cummins’s journey from illustration to abstraction reflects a deep commitment to the expressive power of painting. Her art is rooted in color, space, and texture, yet it is also about finding simplicity amid complexity.
Through oil and cold wax, she creates luminous, tactile surfaces that invite reflection. Each painting is not just an object but a layered narrative, an unfolding story of process, discovery, and clarity.
For Cummins, painting is not about representation but about suggestion. Her art encourages viewers to pause, to see beyond chaos, and to embrace the quiet power of color and abstraction.
