Create An Art Series Using Your Own Story
- Denise Cerro
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
You know how they say a picture's worth a thousand words? Well, I've got thousands of pictures that pretty much tell the story of my art and life! Every time I scroll through my photos to find something, I'm reminded of all the creative moments and experiences I've had. That's basically my life story in pictures!
So here's the thing... as an artist, you might often find yourself staring at a blank canvas, thinking, "What masterpiece should I paint, draw, or maybe just scribble today?" Meanwhile, you're feeling as blank as the canvas in front of you! This is the perfect time to take a few moments (or whatever time frame you need) to think of a story...a story about you. It doesn't have to be deeply personal (though it could be)...it might be about the environment around you at a certian point in your life...and expericence, pets, houses, flowers, cars, perfume bottles...the list can go on and on...you choose it! We all have stories and segments from life we can paint...whether realistic, abstracted, mixed media...so much material to work with!!!
I created the above series of small paintings, "Nature's Playground," back in 2020 for a small painting release I did through the ArtNxtLevel program with Sergio Gomez. This is where I first learned that having a story made doing a series (or even just one) painting more fun, interesting and intriguing. Nature's Playground was all about growing up in a rural setting and having the open outdoors and my grandmother's prolific flower beds as our playground. It was so exciting to package each little painted memory up and send them off to their new homes when all the paintings sold out!
The following year, during one of my ongoing "clean the studio" rampages, I collected all the small, odd-sized canvases scattered about and decided to do another series. So I just started painting with no real idea of what I wanted to create. Then I came across a book of postcards in my endless paper supplies—postcards of cats. The story popped right into my head and onto my little canvases, "Cat Ladies." We all know one; maybe one day I'll be one too...Cat Ladies sold out! Having had many little kittens and cats in my life, this too was a big part of my story.
This next story is all about "Remnants"...you know, those little cut-offs and scraps of paper you just can't throw away...afterall, you may use them one day! I am the queen of that, a very organized paper queen I might add! This series was so close to my heart as it gave me the opportunity to revisit pieces I'd created in the past through the scraps left behind. There is nothing I love more that arranging things that are pleasing to the eye...along with scraps, each piece had a dimensionsl element added in from my days of being a vintage marketer. I continue to add to this series as I always have scraps of interest to work with and will always love the freedom this wabi sabi practice gives me...Remnants Series.
We all have many stories and memories that we can create from, create an art series using your own story. My Blue Skies series was prompted when my art pal Susie Zol and I took a cyanotype class on the beach in La Jolla CA, from marine scientist Oriana Poindexter. What a fun day that was...and from that came a whole series of work using cyanotype art. What is better than creating art and being in the sunshine with waves coming in!
Later that year, several memories gathered into one... cyanotype, remnants, and a few cats joined together to create ART BLOCKS! Do I even need to say that blocks bring up so many childhood memories? This was a really fun series that I later recreated in another series of art blocks using oil paintings from my more representational art days.
AND...if you know my art, you know I have a never-ending parade of flowers...single stems and full floral series. I get that from growing up around my grandmother's love of gardening and flowers...I find they offer up endless inspiration as well as styles and techniques to paint.
I invite you to click on the titles below any of the photos and head over to the
YouTube videos on my channel of creating these special stories.
Todays Story
The above are just a few of the stories that have shown up in my art as I take you on a walk down my memory lane. The point I want to make is...find a story that you can feel into, get excited about...or deeply moved by...that is where your best art will come from. Many times, when you paint what you love, what is part of your story...viewers pick up on that and feel your energy in the painting. This is where I believe your most successful works come from.
I'm enjoying taking little bits from all these past works and creating a series of stories on a larger scale, incorporating all the elements I enjoy working with, working from, and making something new. Actually, new ideas are popping in as I write this post! Once you open yourself up to your story, it may start creating itself!
New video where I'm getting started on a new piece...can't wait to see where it takes me!
Every artist has a story...let it show up in your work!
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