About the Artist
Cecelia Cox OPA
Artist Statement
I am drawn to serene compositions which explore the harmony of colors and textures and the juxtaposition of the natural world and the human-made. My goal is a defined sense of light and space to evoke the beauty of what I see and to share that with the viewer.
I work from life in oil on linen. My studio is illuminated by north light which I find especially beautiful for its softness. Setting up a still life may be completed quickly or take as long as a day. I usually have a concept in mind based on the objects used and the color harmonies but sometimes that concept takes a turn when I start arranging the set up. I sometimes do a detailed charcoal drawing and then an oil transfer to the canvas if a subject is especially complicated, but I usually start the painting directly on the linen with an umber underpainting by lightly sketching in with a brush and paint. I next thinly mass in the darks and middle tones and wipe out the lights with a cloth. I then have a fairly complete, but lighter, value range in umber called an open grisaille. After allowing that to dry, I move on to thin applications of paint to establish the color overall with additional sessions in thicker paint to model the form and further establish the all- important sense of light. I often glaze thin applications of transparent colors to complete the painting.
There are as many valid ways to execute a painting as there are artists (well, in theory). For me, using traditional techniques and working from life is the most enjoyable way to create my vision. I am always grateful after a day in the studio.
Represented by The Good Art Company, Fredericksburg, TX and Square Pear Fine Art Gallery in Kennett Square, PA.
Biography
Cecelia Cox studied art briefly at the Atlanta College of Art but found the emphasis on commercial and conceptual art wanting. A year living in Brussels and visits to many of the major European museums had a much greater impact on her growth as an artist. While raising two children, she continued her study of art through workshops and classes with many notable artists. She attended open figure drawing sessions held at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga for many years.
Upon moving to Greensboro, NC, in 2006, Cecelia was fortunate to be invited to join a talented group of local artists who met regularly at the studio of Scott Burdick and Susan Lyon to draw and paint from the figure. She also participated in local plein air events and painted weekly with the Piedmont Outdoor Painters Society. A workshop with Sherri McGraw in 2010 inspired her to focus on still life.
Cecelia is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America. She was honored to be the 2018 winner of the Robert Douglas Hunter Award in the Guild of Boston Artists Regional Juried Exhibition. She now lives with her husband, Ken, in Lancaster, PA.
Awards
2026 9th Annual Juried Floral Art Exhibition, Studio Pintura, Minneapolis, Third Place
2022 Florence Academy of Art, Artistic Challenge Still Life, First Place
2022 Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon Finalist
2021 Blue Review Art Prize, Honorable Mention
2021 Bold Brush Instagram, October, First Place
2020 Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon Finalist
2018 Robert Douglas Hunter Award, Guild of Boston Artists Regional Juried Exhibition
2016 Art Renewal Center Salon (ARC) Finalist
Selected Exhibitions
2026 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
2025 9th Annual Juried Floral Art Exhibition, Studio Pintura, Minneapolis, MN
2025 Almenara Art Prize Online Exhibition
2025 Salmagundi Club of NY, 44th Annual Open Painting, Sculpture & Graphics Exhibition
2024 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Mark Arts, Wichita, Kansas
2023 Stillness, David Lyall Home and Design, Lancaster, PA, solo
2023 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, Beverly McNeil Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2022 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, James R. Ross Fine Art, Indianapolis, IN
2021 The New Pre-Raphaelites: Illumination, Era Contemporary, Philadelphia, PA
2021 Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Quinlan Visual Arts Center, Gainsville, GA
2021 Memento Mori, Sugarlift Gallery, New York, NY
2020 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, Reinert Fine Art, Charleston, SC
2019 Oil Painters of America, Virtuosos of the OPA, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art, St. Augustine, Florida
2018 Guild of Boston Artists Regional Juried Exhibition, Robert Douglas Hunter Award, Boston, Massachusetts
2018 American Women Artists Haggin Museum Show, Full Sun: American Women Artists Illuminate the Haggin Museum
2017 Passionate Color, Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery, Portland, ME
2017 American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, Tucson Desert Art Museum
2016 Oil Painters of America Eastern Exhibition, Eisele Fine Art, Cincinnati, Ohio
2015 Invitational Miniature Show, Germanton Gallery, Germanton, NC
2015 Coalition of Artist for the Recognition of Endangered Species, Greensboro Science Center,
Greensboro, NC
2015 Oil Painters of America Eastern Exhibition, Eckert & Ross Fine Art, Indianapolis, IN
2015 Oil Painters of America Juried Salon Show, Beverly McNeil Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2015 American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, Bonner David Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2015 International Guild of Realism 10th Annual Exhibition, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2014 Invitational Miniature Show, Germanton Gallery, Germanton, NC
2014 “These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things”, Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC, group
2014 American Women Artists National Juried Competition, Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA
2014 Salon International, Greenhouse Fine Art, San Antonio, Texas
2013 “Objective Beauty” Skyuka Gallery, Tryon, NC, solo
2012 Ambleside Gallery, Greensboro, NC, solo
2012 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, Bennington Center for the Arts,
Bennington, Vermont
2012 Oil Painters of America 21st Annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils, Evergreen
Fine Art Gallery, Evergreen, Colorado
2012 Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art, San Antonio, Texas
2011 Oil Painters of America 20th Annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils, Devin
Galleries, Couer d’Alene, Idaho
Collections
Elon University
Breslow Starling Frost Warner Boger Hiatt, PLLC
Affiliations
Oil Painters of America, Signature
