couchart

My name is Cynthia and I live in Topeka, Kansas in the U.S. I work as a legal analyst by day and create artwork by night. I usually go by the moniker of Ashazart at other trading sites.

You may view some of my artwork at my online portfolio and also on my blog (both links are shown above). I mostly enjoy drawing and painting, but I also do mixed media collage. I generally work in either a pseudo-realistic or surrealistic style. I also do abstracts upon occasion. I enjoy depicting subjects that are a little "bent" or unusual, or that view something familiar from a different perspective.

I have been trading ATCs and other forms of mail art for several years and I enjoy meeting new people and other artists through this type of trading.

I am a very reliable trader/swapper and I have been trading online for six years. It would take a major catastrophe to occur for me not to fulfill any commitments I have made. I usually send out my items within a day or two of the partner assignments, so if I am your partner in a swap or trade and you have not received the swap item from me, please be sure to contact me. I also leave a rating for my partners upon receiving my trade/swap items and I appreciate receiving ratings and comments in return.

NOTE TO HOSTS: As of 1/27/2011, I have completed 21 type 3 swaps, 40 type 2 swaps, and 3 type 1 swaps, so far all with 5 or 5+ ratings. Hopefully, these stats will save you some time when you are checking profiles.

In terms of what I like to receive, I am pretty open with respect to themes and styles, but please see my "Things I Can Live Without" section below. My taste in art includes representational, surrealistic, abstract, and impressionistic styles. I also like colorful folk art when it is done well and primitive art is very cool. Fantasy art can be interesting, and off-beat and weird subjects often really bowl me over. I love receiving original artwork.

I am not easily offended, so feel free to send me your wild and weird things, the stuff you might hesitate to send someone else.

As for crafted items, I prefer things that are a little more sophisticated over things that are quaint, but anything done well is appreciated.

I enjoy vintage and/or interesting ephemera and distressed items can be very cool. I have something of a paper fetish and I love really interesting paper, whether it be marbled, paste paper, handmade, fancy decorated or old book liner pages. Antique wall paper, old correspondence, ledger pages, patent book pages, diagrams, black and white illustrations or prints, maps, foreign language in cool fonts, old postage stamps, vintage and art postcards, etc. are always welcome.

I enjoy most colors and color combinations, but if I had to choose one I could do without, it would probably be pink, especially hot pink.

I seem to find myself joining quite a few postcard swaps here, so I thought I would add a section just for postcards. I enjoy all sorts of postcards. I like them new, old, and in all sizes. I don't mind if they are purchased from stores, individually made by you, or commercially made via online sites like Zazzle. If the content is good, I don't care how it came into being (a rose is a rose is a rose...).

I am also quite open as to subject matter, although feel free to look at my section called "Things I Can Live Without." I don't have particular themes that I collect, although I do find myself buying a lot of postcards that are on the surreal side or humorously strange. Okay, also downright odd or seriously weird. So, if you have ones like that and don't know where to send them, I'm your gal!

I don't have much interest or use for things that would be described as cute or sweet (examples are Disney characters, Hello Kitty, Kawaii, cartoon characters, or similar types of items), holiday themed items (unless the swap is holiday themed), religious themed items, or things containing affirmations or words like Believe, Beauty, Dream, etc. No offense to anyone who does enjoy these types of things, they just don't float my boat. ;-) Also, I don't really have any use for glitter or sequins, or paper or other materials that have glitter or sequins on them.

This doesn't mean you cannot send me these types of items, but I will simply put them in my destash box and move them along as quickly as possible in the hopes that they will find a more welcoming home. ;-)

Representational Drawing:

Surrealistic Drawing:

Mixed Media Collage: