Congratulations to Cynthia Linden, a 30-year-old Luxembourg artist, who is the winner of the global Elephant Parade Artbox contest 2020! Cynthia's 'Mysterious Elephant’ caught the judges attention with its distinct style and colour pairing. Today, we're interviewing Cynthia to find out more about the artist behind this incredible piece.
How did you discover the Elephant Parade Artbox competition?
In 2014, I went to Amsterdam on Holiday. I visited the Elephant Parade House and there I found the Artbox and the competition. Last year, I tried to paint the elephant and there I saw in the Box the Flyer.
What are the moods/ themes that come to mind when thinking about elephants?
When I think of elephants, I immediately think of the fact that they are unfortunately still a coveted prey for poachers and are still hunted for their ivory by illegal hunters. Unfortunately, the elephants are threatened with extinction and this should be prevented. Elephants are beautiful animals and these should be preserved. They are good-natured animals and have a pronounced social behaviour to protect their herd.
How did it feel to paint on the shape of an elephant?
It was a new experience and challenge for me. Normally, I don't paint an elephant shape. I really had a lot of fun painting the Elephant Parade Artbox. It took me a few days to finish it. It was a good activity for me. I immediately began to paint the elephant freehand, without drawing a stencil of it before. I will continue to paint elephants. It's really nice for the great pastime.
Do you think art plays a vital role in environmental conservation awareness?
Art plays a very important role in our environmental conservation awareness. This began very early with the cave paintings. I think that with art you want to achieve something for many people and what you want to achieve. Some people may only be moved with art.
Do you think art can play a positive role in the hard time the world is now going through with the pandemic?
Art can have a very positive effect for us in this difficult time that we are currently experiencing. You can easily distract yourself and immerse yourself in another world. If you only concentrate on the art, when you're in the moment painting, you forget everything around you and you forget about this pandemic for a moment.
What was your inspiration?
My inspiration for this elephant actually started with the fact that I am very interested in animals and nature. On my elephant, you can also recognize some animal patterns, such as zebra and leopard. On the back you can see a larger leaf, this stands for nature. Since I started to paint the elephant in the pandemic period, I thought that in this "dark" time, you should bring more colour and joy into it. Therefore, I have mostly used many and bright colours. For the face, I was inspired by Indian art with gold and silver.
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