Art by Serena

 I had a very creative upbringing. My mother, a well-known painter &  potter, encouraged myself & my three sisters in the visual & performing  arts so that we became artists, musicians, ballet dancers etc. 

I trained in Brisbane in  Commercial Art – Design & Illustration, gaining a  scholarship to attend Art College. Then I worked as designer in a Poster  Company, in advertising agencies here & in the UK, & as a press artist  for many years for the Courier/Sunday Mail. Since having a family, I have worked freelance from my home studio. Work has  been as varied as posters (the old art of ticket-writing), murals, sign-writing,  stage sets & props, banners, trade fair backdrops and graphic design (logos,  business cards, letterheads.)  

I have always maintained a passion for art. I fill sketchbooks wherever I go  – inspired by the world around me. The beauty & drama of landscapes.  Compositions created by man & nature. The human figure – the nude, dancers  in motion, figures on a beach.

 My house portraits grew out of drawing many different houses on my  travels. When a shoulder injury  curtailed working on a large scale, the  idea formed that I could promote this as part of what I do as being not so  physically demanding.

 I had some years earlier painted my mother’s house as a birthday present for  her, which led to a subsequent commission by some friends who were very proud of  their renovations. It has proven to be a very popular idea & I have  completed many commissions. A painting captures more than the physical appearance of a place. It captures  the spirit, & the composition utilises the best of the setting to convey the  atmosphere of a property and show its best side! I can also leave out or  disguise powerlines, poles, meter boxes etc. The house is immortalised! As in my own experience, the value of the artwork increases with time…when my  mother passed away, I received the painting back and it serves as a fond  reminder of the past.
I have often been asked to include the family pets in a  painting – some that are already in heaven, once again grace the front steps or  veranda (worked from a photo) in the house portrait. Others I have drawn from  life only to hear they have passed away but are also immortalised in the  picture. Some are of homes long demolished, recreated in a painting.(Reference  supplied by photos, descriptions & in one case reading a book written by a  relative!) Some I have had to show with renovations completed & garden  landscaped! One had to be shown how it was in earlier times, so I had to  deconstruct the renovation!! 

I work in all media except oils (at present), but it seems watercolours and  pen & ink are the most popular. Acrylics & soft pastels produce a more  painterly effect. As a change from houses, I have produced a portrait in pastels of a row of  baby possums on a branch for a wildlife carer. A souvenir for her when her  “babies” are released to the wild. I have been commissioned by store & restaurant owners to  capture their businesses for posterity! The portraits make an ideal birthday, anniversary or wedding present that  lasts forever!