I am Aliona Price – a self-taught artist originally from Chisinau, Moldova. Currently live in Santa Fe, Texas. After experimenting over the years with various mediums I found my passion with oil on canvas. I strive to create expressive abstract and impressionistic artwork that has an influence on the viewer’s emotions and state-of-mind in general.
Feel free to check my website gallery for new original artwork, commission orders, pet portraits, and fine art prints.
Purchase Miss Carolyn’s book! Exploring Contemporary Art A formal essay on the exploration of contemporary art by Houston artist Carolyn Bertrand Hodges, with select paintings by the artist.
S E R R A N O G A L L E R Y 2000 Edwards St. Houston, Texas 77007 713 724 0709 www.serranogallery.com
Photos by Cynthia Isakson Photography taken at the “My Pie In The Sky Wish” reception, 8/30/2019 at Serrano Gallery
ARTIST STATEMENT
I wish it to be known why I use the medium of ink to create my art.
For many long years, I painted with oils. Focusing with intent on subject matter with a realism we are all familiar with and relate to in our personal experience. However, now, the pen is more handy for me than painting.
With a pen, there is a flow. With a pen, there is no clean-up as with paint, and there is certainly no tediousness … indeed there is a timelessness. With the fine point of a pen, multi-affects may be visualized. There can be surprise, discovery, and inventiveness. And, in my art, no monotonous design!
Now I approach my art in a different manner than I did in the past. Subject matter, or things which we are all familiar with remain and comes partly from memory.
However, as I draw, in a randomized sort of way, and like in a dream, unforeseen images appear consciously. Dependent on this unconsciousness, as with dreams, or imagination as some people call it, the artist is faced with the unpredictable until an image pops out. That’s it, this is what it means … and after all, much better than I could have thought up, and certainly a lot more fun!
Like in dreams, the images may be a mystery. The whole unconscious is a mystery to most of us. Like the unconscious, we can dream up images with our art. Also, as with meditation, we may transcend beyond the ordinary when we create art … making art as a whole; The great “I am that … I am.”
There is a ceaseless flow of imagery, and with such spirit, things don’t matter, for detail, memory, etc., are part of the whole, and all-embracing.
~ Carolyn Bertrand Hodges
Mitch visits with Miss Carolyn at her art reception in the Heights.
ABOUT
“Miss Carolyn” is a longtime fan of First Saturday Arts Market. A few years ago, I interviewed her and found her personality to be spot on with the other artists at the market. After many conversations and artistic outings, I continue to include her random bits of knowledge in my arts column, Art Valet, in The Leader Newspaper.
My work is inspired by the things that inspire me personally, which are many and varied. As a geoscientist, rocks and stones are almost always my main source of inspiration, especially incredibly well-cut stones from independent lapidary artists.
However, design itself is another influence on my pieces. Bringing shapes, textures, and color together in unexpected ways and the desire to bring jewelry away from the body is, currently, a major influence. In addition to the many things and ideas that inspire me, I want my jewelry to evoke quiet refinement and sophistication while being interesting and wearable. To achieve this, I use minimal styling incorporating clean lines, subtle texturing, and careful attention to finish. My work is set apart by the use of tactile design and 3D elements, like texturing flat silver then manipulating it into domes and folds. It’s comfortable and wearable, but still different enough to incite questions like “Where did you get that?”
My appreciation for color began at an early age as I watched my late father create in paint and wood as part of his many hobbies and interests. While obtaining a degree in education from Texas A&M University I realized I excelled in art – primarily sketching and painting – and went on to obtain a minor in art along with an elementary education degree. I dreamed then of focusing on art for a living but instead began a career in teaching. Fast forward a quarter century and through the blessing of a long marriage and raising three great kids I found myself in my late 40’s finally able to fulfill my dream of producing art for the enjoyment of others. I have since worked in many mediums and have for now settled upon colorful abstracts executed in resin as my primary form of expression.
I truly enjoy meeting personally with those interested in my work and hope I can help you fulfill your quest for unique andhigh-qualityy art!
Ksenia Annis was born in the capital of Soviet Russia, Moscow. The experience of the incredibly rich Russian culture crushed under the weight of an oppressive political system formed her esthetic and artistic principles. With limited options available to creative people under the communist rule, Ksenia chose architecture as the outlet for her artistic talents. In Moscow Architectural Institute she received an education that included not only technical subjects but also extensive courses on drawing, painting, sculpture and history of art. After graduation, while working in various design firms, Ksenia devoted her free time to travelling to various European countries and the US to see masterpieces of architecture and fine art.
Architecture was both her creative outlet and financial lifeline after moving to the US early this century. However, the creative constraints of the profession and the soul-crushing nature of office life convinced Ksenia to pursue her true calling full time in 2008. As principal artist and owner of Tummy Rubb Studio she now devotes all of her time to traditional and digital visual art, working in acrylic, gouache and watercolor, as well as sculpture. Her focus is a whimsical interpretation of the world, which really shines in her paintings and illustrations for books, the first of which was published in 2015 on Amazon. Ksenia participates in regional and national judged shows and competitions, receiving awards recently with the Woodlands Art League and Watercolor Society of Houston. She was recently chosen as one of three finalists for a community inspired mural to be placed in a new Kroger grocery store in a contest organized by Houston Arts Alliance. Ksenia’s love of bears, who are prominently featured in Russian folk and fairy tales, inspired her sketch that appears on the Netflix envelope below. Hers was one of five winning designs that appeared on their DVD mailers throughout fall of 2016.To see more of Ksenia’ work, please visit her online store at www.tummyrubb.com.
She regularly posts on Facebook/tummyrubb and Instagram/tummyrubbstudio www.tummyrubb.com
