Several works of local artist Gena Semenov are now on display in the Atrium of Apopka's City Hall.
If you venture into Apopka City Hall you cannot miss the artwork on display. The display changes every few weeks. Currently on display are several "rich impasto oil paintings of animals, people and misc. whimsy." The artist is Gena Semenov, who lives in Apopka.
Semenov was born near Winchendon, Massachusetts. An only child, she lived in the woods with her parents. Her mother came from a "weird Irish family" and her father was a Russian defector. According to Semenov, "Both of them were trying to create a new life for themselves while trying to forget the crueler world they had known."
The family moved to Florida when she was 7 years old. Her father died when she was 14. Both events had profound impacts on her and helped her make the decision to become an artist.
She graduated from Ringling School of Art and Design. She spent several years working as a graphic designer ultimately becoming a freelance designer. She did work for various advertising agencies, and corporations.
At age 30 she took some painting leasons from lessons from a contemporary French Fauvist artist, Marco Bronzini. She quit the graphics world and became a full-time painter.
She shows her art at shows all around the country and lives in Apopka with her husband, two children, two cats and one dog.
She uses the "Impasto" painting technique, which calls for paint to be laid on an area very thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture, the paint appears to be coming out of the canvas.
Come by City Hall and see her work. Use this link to learn more about Gena Semenov.
