Cynthia Chamberland: A Homage to Life

Cynthia Chamberland holds on to this, “Homage to life is my affirmation that life is beautiful. We all experience loss, intense sadness, turmoil, and brokenness throughout our lives. Living is challenging⏤despair and depression are difficult to manage at times. Yet there is so much beauty in this world. Painting is one avenue for me to see and experience beauty, immerse myself into it, and show others.”

Chamberland was a child artist, more interested and inclined to make images than many of her classmates, but at 19 years old, she broke her neck in an automobile accident that resulted in paralysis below her chest, her life changed forever. Although now she is a wheelchair user with limited use of her hands, she has not lost her child spirit and innate drive to make artwork. This selection of artworks in soft pastel and watercolor are happy, wistful, and kind-spirited.

Chamberland has an MSW from the University of Hawaii and worked in social services and grant writing for 25 years. She has been painting for 40 years. She has taken several classes by artists including the late Jack Flynn, Barbara Johnson, Lynne Adams, and Marlene Rye. She lives in Easthampton with her husband Attorney Alfred Chamberland, their dog Nina and four sister cats.