Cedric Usman is a Filipino-Canadian mixed media abstract artist based in Sherwood Park, Alberta. From an early age, he was lucky enough to have spent many moments of his childhood being close to the "tabing-dagat" or the seaside in hometown of his mother in Agoo, La Union as well as on the beaches of his father's at Tugaya, Lanao Del Sur. He did not realize how much of an impact these experiences had on him until he dove deeper into abstraction. He loves exploring through nature, seeing the order and chaos of it all, through hiking, cruising around his longboard, and being when he simply stays still with his handpan. Now, with his wife and 2 kids, he feels almost as if he is able to appreciate life again through a different season of life. The playfulness, the innocence, of his kids' young minds makes him feel closer to his inner-child, embracing what he thought what was once lost. He owes it to his wife and kids that he was able to find himself back into art.

Art has been a life-long pursuit and a passion of his that continues to evolve and change in form. As a young teenager, he has always been an independent learner and driven to learn different kinds of art mediums, from charcoals and pencils, to ink and acrylics. It was through fluid art that Cedric started to feel more at home with his art. His art style which gravitates more towards texture and fluid art is a testament to the influence brought upon by modern contemporary artists of today.

Cedric believes that it is through abstraction that allowed his growth to flourish as a human being. The more he creates, the more he starts to understand why he even paints art in the first place. Contemplation and reflection through his art is, for the most part, the reward of the process.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

It was not long ago when I viewed art as nothing more than a hobby, something to simply pass time. After all, I did spend a lot of my high school breaks inside the school library cubicles sketching away. But, as I continue to experience life through the lens of being a professional artist, it started to become more apparent that art is a necessity. Art speaks through us where words may not. It makes us feel understood. It creates paths, and doorways between people that may not always be clearly explained. Every art piece reflects not only the time spent by the artist, but we get to experience an artist's vision with our own perspectives. It is, in a way, a convergence of minds. Art, in its very essence, I believe, is everything and more.