Featured Artist: Raya Finkelson, 3D Artist

This week the very talented Raya Finkelson shares her artistic musings with us by answering some questions lovers of art often want to know.

How did you get your start as an artist?

I was not born into an artistic family and was not immersed or exposed to a lot of art and music growing up.  But, I always felt that there was a creative spark inside me that was constantly growing and waiting for the right time to emerge.  I felt inspired by various life experiences, memories and the natural world.  In my teens I began experimenting with drawing, painting and sculpting for a few years, but eventually abandoned those pursuits to focus on school, immigrating to a new country and starting a family.  As is common with most creative personalities, it was only a matter of time before the swelling up of inspiration would come out and reveal itself once again, this time through a more dedicated effort to focus on painting and sculpting.  In 2005, I made my art a priority and haven’t looked back.  it is now my full time endeavor.

What Inspires you and your work?

The beauty and diversity of the natural world is my primary inspiration. The depth and variety of shapes in nature constantly provide endless opportunities for me to re-imagine and reinterpret the world around me into 3D sculptures paintings.

Can you please describe your process?

The entire process is quite time consuming, since it involves more than just putting brush strokes to canvas as I am creating 3 dimensional objects within my paintings.  The steps include sketching, defining the 3D objects, molding them out of clay, baking the clay, then attaching them to the canvas. Only then does the actual painting begin.  You can find some of my art work at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/raya-finkelson www.instagram.com/rayafink

Please visit Raya Finkelson during this year's studio tour, when you certainly will be amazed by her beautiful 3D works. The studio is on during the weekend of October 15th and 16th. Sign up for our email list for more details!