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Deeply affected by art since childhood, Cynthia Real’s (Davis) passion for drawing began in elementary school and continued through high school, where she took as many art classes as she was allowed. In 1975, she began attending college for a degree in Commercial Art in Los Angeles, California and fell in love with the surreal art of painter Salvador Dali. However, Cynthia’s life was in need of great change, so she took it upon herself to move to Hawaii in 1977. There, surrounded by the beauty of the island, she found new love and passion for nature, inspiring her chosen form of realism, which she is known for today.
Her first job in Hawaii was airbrushing T-shirts at the International Marketplace in Waikiki. It was repetitive, but fun, and the exposure lead to better opportunities, like painting surfboards for a well known surfboard company, Town and Country Surfboards. While actively developing as an artist, these experiences fueled Cynthia’s desire to go into business for herself. Thus, in 1980, Phantasma was born.
Her first products were airbrushed paintings and sun visors, which she sold at the Aloha Stadium Flea Market. Back then, she commuted with all of her art driving her tiny VW Bug (it would have been the perfect commercial for Volkswagen). However, she soon began desiring something more challenging, and so broadened her horizons by creating a line of women's clothing. She eventually decided that catering solely to women was too restrictive and wished to share her talent with a wider range of people.
In 1981, at the Pacific Handcrafters Christmas Craft Fair, Cynthia introduced her airbrushed light-switch covers. This was the beginning of her transformation to the artist she is today. As the years passed, she added airbrushed mailboxes, key holders, and plaques to her line of products.
Though this was a very satisfying and successful trade for for nearly 25 years, in 2005 she decided it was yet again time for change. Big change.
In 2005, she attended a school in New Mexico to learn a form of visual art that she had always admired: sandblasting/glass etching. With a robust background in drawing, painting, and airbrushing, Cynthia eased into it smoothly; she had found the form she loves most.
Taking inspiration from the beautiful world God created, she first sketches her concepts onto paper, then transfers, through various steps, onto glass or a variety of other surfaces. Then, using an abrasive (silicon carbide, a type of sand), she hand blasts an image into the glass, creating a nearly three-dimensional image through varying depths and shading.
There have been many times during Cynthia’s life when she was faced with creating her own niche, when she choose to make drastic changes and find happiness for herself. Through her life-long career, she has come to learn that great art comes from hard work, committment to her values and appreciation of all her blessings. Her art has been purchased by people from all over the world, and she is grateful to have contributed to the beauty of their environments. Most of all, she is blessed to use her God given talent to grace clients' homes and businesses with a touch of nature's beauty.
Her first job in Hawaii was airbrushing T-shirts at the International Marketplace in Waikiki. It was repetitive, but fun, and the exposure lead to better opportunities, like painting surfboards for a well known surfboard company, Town and Country Surfboards. While actively developing as an artist, these experiences fueled Cynthia’s desire to go into business for herself. Thus, in 1980, Phantasma was born.
Her first products were airbrushed paintings and sun visors, which she sold at the Aloha Stadium Flea Market. Back then, she commuted with all of her art driving her tiny VW Bug (it would have been the perfect commercial for Volkswagen). However, she soon began desiring something more challenging, and so broadened her horizons by creating a line of women's clothing. She eventually decided that catering solely to women was too restrictive and wished to share her talent with a wider range of people.
In 1981, at the Pacific Handcrafters Christmas Craft Fair, Cynthia introduced her airbrushed light-switch covers. This was the beginning of her transformation to the artist she is today. As the years passed, she added airbrushed mailboxes, key holders, and plaques to her line of products.
Though this was a very satisfying and successful trade for for nearly 25 years, in 2005 she decided it was yet again time for change. Big change.
In 2005, she attended a school in New Mexico to learn a form of visual art that she had always admired: sandblasting/glass etching. With a robust background in drawing, painting, and airbrushing, Cynthia eased into it smoothly; she had found the form she loves most.
Taking inspiration from the beautiful world God created, she first sketches her concepts onto paper, then transfers, through various steps, onto glass or a variety of other surfaces. Then, using an abrasive (silicon carbide, a type of sand), she hand blasts an image into the glass, creating a nearly three-dimensional image through varying depths and shading.
There have been many times during Cynthia’s life when she was faced with creating her own niche, when she choose to make drastic changes and find happiness for herself. Through her life-long career, she has come to learn that great art comes from hard work, committment to her values and appreciation of all her blessings. Her art has been purchased by people from all over the world, and she is grateful to have contributed to the beauty of their environments. Most of all, she is blessed to use her God given talent to grace clients' homes and businesses with a touch of nature's beauty.
Artist at work
SANDBLASTING IS A VERY VERY MESSY JOB
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Cynthia Real (Davis)
Owner and Artist