Cynthia grew up drawing, painting, and playing music; a duality which  has continued lifelong. She completed a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Flute at the New England Conservatory of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. While in Boston, she also took courses at the Massachusetts College of Art. She studied Chinese Brush Painting with Chiang Kai Chung, who was fresh from China, as well as taking other art courses at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. 

Further influences from Oriental traditions came from studies with Kaji Aso in his Boston studio, and Mizufune, who gave classes in traditional Japanese printmaking at the Putney School in Putney, Vermont, where Ms. Crawford spent her last two high school years. These traditional influences can perhaps still be seen in her watercolor brushwork and graphic designs. 

Cynthia has a successful business doing animal portraits, and has been invited to create paintings and prints to be used as prizes at several National Specialty Dog Shows. She has illustrated two music books, and a book of dog stories. Although her specialty is rapidly becoming Animal Art, she also does landscapes and florals. She is primarily a watercolorist, but also loves graphic design work. 

Recent shows include a solo show at the Zollikofer Gallery in White River Junction, Vt.  and group shows at the Wood Gallery in Montpelier, Vt, the Quechee Inn in Quechee, Vt. Ava Gallery in Lebanon N. H., and more. She has, in collaboration with artist Grace Ellis, installed a permanent mural in the children's operating room of Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital, Lebanon, N.H.

Cynthia is 2006 President of the VWS.