Artist of the Month July 2018

Sana Shaw

Houston, TX

The main ideas of ​​my work is closely connected with the spiritual purpose of my life. The development of creativity and the development of personality are always parallel. Creativity is my way of life and way of communicating with the world; this is my attitude and expression of my spiritual aspirations, this is my way of development and education for my soul. I explore my inner world, trying to consider my desires, my tasks, my mission in this world and attempt to express this in all my works. My professional self-conception also includes cognition of the surrounding world, it structure and that can give us strength in this world, how we can find meaning and joy in every day of our life.

In my works, I want to discuss together with the viewer how to free our souls from many stereotypes, false beliefs, to see the shining essence of our soul and to realize the appearance of a sense of flow within us that brings your personality to new opportunities and perspectives. This raises us to a new level of our spiritual development and promotes the manifestation of a brighter and stronger individuality.

I believe we live in an amazing time in the development of science and technology. Science and art both expand human capabilities. I am fascinated by new achievements and discoveries in science, in particular in medicine.

I love plants, I talk to them and grow them. It is difficult to find something more beautiful, fragile, and also useful for humanity.

To date, I have three main themes of creativity – psychology and spiritual development, the achievements of modern medicine and the study of the life and soul of the flora of our planet.

My works are united by my pictorial method, which is based on the energy of random streams of acrylic paints.

I try to give my work an aesthetic and intellectual component and leave space for interpretation of each work by the viewer. I’m trying to create my art to attract viewers attention to issues that concern me and many others. Each picture carries a certain spiritual message. Creativity brings me pleasure and fills my life with meaning. It heals my soul and lights the fire inside me. It gives me the strength to go further in our complex  world.

How and when did you start creating art?

I started to create my art in 1991 after the completion of my Masters degree at the Architectural Academy. I lived in Russia at this time and was a fashion designer. After moving to America in 2017, I changed focus to acrylic painting.

What media and genres do you work in?

Now I am working with acrylic and mixed media. My genre is an organic series performed in an abstract style.

Who or what are your influences?

My inspiration comes from different sources; different artists, from my inner world and the main source is a personal development from my study of each person's, biomolecular medicine amongst a fragile world of plants. A full version of the concept of my work and a description of all the works can be found on my website.

What was your inspiration for The Edge of Reality?

I drew inspiration from my inner world when I created the painting "The Edge of Reality". I think that much is possible in our life when a person finds the strength to go forward, to learn new things and develop oneself. Each person can go beyond reality, see and understand the connections between their inner and outer worlds - this is the main idea of ​​this picture.

Describe your creative process?

My dominant method in painting is spontaneity and randomness at the very beginning of the work, which comes from the depth of my intuition and sets the direction of the painting's completion in the future. All my works are combined by my pictorial method; based on the energy of random streams of acrylic paints.

What are you working on currently?

Now I am working on two large organic series "Cells of our body" and "Exploring the Soul of Plants".

What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

At the moment, I am preparing for several competitions which I hope to win. I continuously strive to improve my style and technique, to find something completely new in art and to make my personal contribution to the art of the future.

Where can people view/purchase your work (gallery, website, etc)?

Everyone may view my work on any of my website locations; https://sanashaw.com  (my personal homepage) or several online galleries located on  https://www.artfinder.com/sanashaw  and https://www.saatchiart.com/sanashaw