The Magic Starts to Happen

Artist Diary # 3 "Nothing Comes Between Me and My Paints"
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Artist Diary 2 "Crack the Whip" - Serena Paints

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Where does inspiration come from I wonder? I hope it's a feeling you've all felt on occasion, but for me, it's necessary I have the feeling on a daily basis. Is it possible to conjure it up? Or does it just come to you in a flash?

Last night I had a beautiful dream all about that inspirational feeling. It was a silly scene. I was given an opportunity to have my art on the cover of a major magazine. In the dream I saw this photo they wanted to shoot for the cover, just a blank spot. Immediately I had this overwhelming feeling of excitement and I knew at once that I would be able to provide the art they wanted. It was a flash of "knowing" and inspiration that came upon me. The feeling that I COULD easily do that! Perhaps inspiration is just an immediate realization that you CAN do something and you NEED to act NOW!

I don't know, I think I'll go with the more mysterious version of inspiration coming from some "special" place in the universe. One where we are merely the messenger, harnessing the uplifting energy for the power to create something. Well whatever it is, I do know that it's a real high to experience.

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Staying Motivated

I just spent an amazing hour in my studio. Greens and yellows, blacks and reds - all swirling together to make beautiful art! I am so lucky to have the space to spread out while I listen to Green Day's American Idiot. I just received an early Valentine's gift of Julia Child's book-My Life in France! I loved the movie Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep, but I have to admit, my favorite scenes were of Julia in France- what a time in her life! She was finished working for the government, she had all day to experience Paris first hand! This is one of the best times of her life, she writes. Seems to me, it was the place where she became the Julia Child we knew and loved. And isn't it funny that that process took years! First the experimental years of classes in all the wrong things, then her cooking classes that didn't go quite as planned. Even then, it took many more years of writing her beloved French recipes to finally get published. You know, we all hear of the great story only after one has reached great success. We aren't privy to the happenings while they are chipping away at their craft for years, all the time probably wondering if anyone will even notice. Talk about having blind faith in yourself! She had to keep going even before she ever knew she'd be the queen of cooking! Now that's a lesson for all of us to remember.

Ok, time to enjoy the Winter Olympics some, eat scallops, pasta, and curl up with Julia's, My Life in France. I love that reading a non-fiction book is like having the author right there with you, whispering to you in your ear. I seem to not be able to get enough and I just devour this genre!

I will post my latest paintings soon,
To see more of my work click here!

I think I've made a personal breakthrough with this painting titled, "Torrent." At 2 feet x 3 feet, it's much larger than I usually work. And I know that in a room, an Abstract painting works best as the focal piece. That's not to say that smaller abstracts don't have their rightful place in your home. It's just that there is nothing like walking into a room and seeing a huge piece of art that immediately catches your attention and "speaks" to you.

I painted this piece on a hard canvas panel. I tend to work so rough, fast, and messy, I feel these harder panels take my beatings I give them much better than a delicately stretched and stapled canvas. Besides, they are so easy to just pop into any standard sized frame - with or without glass or matting. Ahh, but framing for me as an artist is one of my least favorite tasks. And because of this, I have so few of my own paintings hanging on my own walls. I can never decide where to put it or how to hang it. I am going to work on changing that this year. My goal - to fill my house with displayed artwork on every wall. Unfortunately, we creatives can get so enraptured in the "making", we fall short when it comes to dislpaying and enjoying our own work. And that is why collectors play such an important roll in our lives। They can validate all our hard work, just by carefully framing it placing it on their wall. Your "mini art galleries" are a stark contrast to my artwork stacked around my house and that definitely motivates me to keep working! To see more pieces click here!

Tuscany is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. Driving through- your senses are captured by fields of poppies, lavender, and sunflowers. It's been a few years since I've been, but these images are always in my mind. Pictures can rarely capture the true impression, so I painted an abstract version of those fields. The best thing about painting, is that it allows you to take what you remember or have seen and make it your own! See more of my work here!

Finished another work. This is called "Desire." Desire can be a beautiful thing, or a monster! I finished it before the sun came up, it's the only way I can get anything done. I listen to Lady GaGa when I work and to Prince - true artists themselves! The paint just seems to ooze out of my soul and I don't try to control it, the more I try to control it, the tighter my work looks. However, there is a fine line between letting go too much, you have to come back and refine your work at the end, still without holding on too tight.

SerenaPaints.com

So here I begin finally, my journey on line, blogging about my painting. I have been meaning to start a blog for the past few years , but it just never seemed the right time, until now! I am ready!
So join me as I wake up in the early morning hours - to paint, to dream and to share with you that creative part inside of me that is always itching to come out!

To see more work of mine click here!