About the Duck Girl

Hello! My name is Cindy Coleman and I’m an artist living in Durango, Colorado. An illustration graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design, I’ve worked in various media, including acrylics, oils, colored pencils, watercolors, and currently – soft pastels.

I never thought that I’d be a landscape painter. I spent the first 40 years of my life as a graphic designer and illustrator. In the fall of 2016 I was struck with chronic fatigue and after many distressing months, discovered that I had lyme disease. I wasn’t able to function for a few years and it left me very depressed. When I finally regained my energy, I had little interest in the artwork that I had been doing. I had some old pastels that I hadn’t used since college and thought, what the heck. I was hooked. I started painting clouds and scenes from my own photographs. After a few paintings I bought a nice set of pastels and then an even nicer set! Painting gives me an escape. I love the outdoors and painting is a chance for me to try and capture that moment – the mood I was in, the smells, the wind, the sounds, my thoughts – everything about that moment and try to wrap it all into a painting that’s a piece of my soul.

I’m a member of the Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of Colorado, Pastel Society of New Mexico, and I frequently exhibit my art in the Four Corners area. I’m a member of the Animas Chocolate Artist Collective, Artisans of Mancos, and The 9318 Collective. And I’m still doing graphic design for some of the most amazing clients in the world.

And why “Duck Girl”? Ask me when you see me, it’s a good story.