Complexities of Spring Painting

A transplanted Texan, Ms Crier grew up in the ranching traditions of the Southwest, where her family raised and showed Arabian horses for more than thirty years. Cynthia received her BS in Architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. She took her BA and Master’s degree in Architecture from Cornell with a minor in Urban Design. She is a registered architect in New York State and is an active member of the American Institute of Architects. Ms. Crier has over 30 years of experience in the architectural profession and has lived in New York City since 1987. Cynthia Bradfield Crier is the principal of Cynthia B. Crier, Architect. Her extensive experience in retail, commercial, governmental and residential work was acquired with the New York City architectural firms of Kohn, Pedersen, Fox, Naomi Leff and the FDNY, New York City Fire Department. From 1993 to 2001, Ms. Crier was Chief Architect of the New York City Fire Department, FDNY, during which time she was responsible for budgeting, designing and managing construction of over half a billion dollars of work within the city. Ms. Crier’s work has been featured in the Home Section of the New York Times, as well as In Touch, Avenue, and Star magazines. Many Renaissance architects studied first as painters. During the past 10 years, Ms Crier has reversed that course, moving instead from architecture to art. Crier’s education and professional career as an architect have given her the basic design principles that she brings to her paintings and photography. She brings that same purpose to her art, the desire to capture the city’s vital moments on canvas. The subject of her paintings and photographs is drawn from her dual passions, architectural built form and natural settings. Like a writer, she paints what she knows, ranging from scenes of her West Village neighborhood to landscapes across America. Over two decades as a practicing architect and resident of New York City's West Village, she has observed myriad changes. The city is organic, and its evolution is accelerating. Like peeling an onion, the layers of a community reveal themselves, one then another, until the whole is exposed. Time, patience and intimate examination bring rich rewards to the persistent explorer. Every day, she discovers new inspiration and old secrets while walking her neighborhood streets. The changing seasons remake each landscape as she explores with camera and canvas.