Spotlight Artist: Cindy Bilbao
Cindy Bilbao is an avid beachcomber from Pennsylvania who loves searching for sea glass, seashells, and shark teeth. A collector for around 25 years, Cindy loves to visit the beaches of New England, especially those in Cape May, New Jersey.
“When a friend visits, I like to take them to a very special cove beach in the late afternoon and stay until darkness falls,” Cindy says. “There you can wander while watching the sunset reflect in the water. In the distance stands a lighthouse that turns on at dusk, lighting the water every few seconds. It’s the most peaceful experience!”
Cindy has been an artist all her life. Her earliest memory is sitting on the lap of her grandfather, an artist with a house full of canvases and paint, while he taught her how to draw. Over the past five years has she had the time to seriously paint. “I like working with acrylic paint to capture the essence of the shore,” explains Cindy. “My use of texture plays a significant role in emphasizing motion and depth in both the water and the sky. I enjoy using expressive strokes and layered techniques, often with a kitchen spatula in addition to paintbrushes, to create a strong sense of atmosphere. I want viewers to feel the sensation of the salty air.”
Cindy has always been inspired by watery places and that hasn’t changed, as most of her artistic pieces are seascapes and beach-themed objects. Though she didn’t grow up near a large body of water, Cindy had a thick patch of woods in her backyard containing a peaceful, trickling stream that fed into a small pond—her special spot. As she got older, she discovered her love for oceans, marshes, and bays. She says these coastal environments make her feel comforted and like she’s at home.
“I’m inspired by the large expanse of open sky and water at the coast,” says Cindy. “I love the effect that the changing light throughout the day has on the color of the water, the dramatic clouds often seen at the coast, the dune grasses, and of course, the coastal sunsets.”
Cindy tries to spend as much free time at the beach as she can. One day she took a photo of sea glass before picking it up, and she ended up loving the photo and started taking more. “I became a bit obsessed with how best to capture the glow of sea glass in different light, especially sunsets. I’d loved beachcombing already but then to add the photographic element was great.” She has since published three books about sea glass and seashells, all featuring her photography.
She began selling her books at shows, and met a whole community of beachcombers. “I especially love hearing all the stories from other beachcombers about how the activity actually helped improve their mental health.”
Cindy was partly inspired to start her online shop because, like her, there are many people who want to live by the coast but cannot. She believes art can fill this empty space, and says she paints often because she can’t go too long without having some aspect of the ocean in her life. “I believe that being outside in nature is the best antidote to the stresses of this world and can have a positive effect on our mental health,” Cindy says. “I hope my love of nature inspires others to really notice and enjoy the beauty that’s out there.”
Cindy has a variety of creative works in her shop, including semi-abstract and abstract acrylic paintings of the coast, dreamy photography prints on watercolor paper, and whimsical watercolor paintings. She also sells her published books, mugs, card games, and more. When she’s not at the beach, Cindy does administrative work for her art business, does fun activities with her adult children, travels with her husband, and of course reads the beach-themed books that she reviews for Beachcombing.
See more of Cindy’s paintings, art, and gifts at CindyJoyStudio.com.
This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 44 September/October 2024
