Origin of ARTIST IMAGINA

One of my earliest memories, at the age of three, was with my Granddad in his amazing garden. He also had a blue work shed (behind him), and he would put me on his knee and show me the things he was making. In the blue shed, he made lots of different things one of which he gave to me. It was a looking glass. A magnifying lens he had mounted between square pieces of wood. I remember going into his garden, with this object, looking at the wonderful designs of nature, magnified. I was entranced by my discoveries in this circular lens. I wasn’t seeing the whole of things, but a magnified field of color, light and texture. Things would come in and out of focus, appear and disappear, as I moved throughout the garden. Little did I know the impact of this small gift.
Flash forward, I remember distinctly, at the age of eight, using crayons, colored pencils and markers, on paper and in coloring books, experimenting for hours @ a time, days on end. Silently coloring outside, listening to nature, a friend sat down next to me at the picnic table. She broke my silence with a question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?".Without skipping a beat, or looking up from the dazzling colors I was blending, mixing and layering, I said, “I want to be an artist”.
Flash forward. I earned a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting and an M.S. in Art Education, still something was missing. I started experimenting with technology; layering, painting / drawing, mixing imagery, blending work from the past and present. I found that I could combine analog and digital techniques. I started thinking about venues in which people could see the work and purchase my creations. GMV PRINTWORK was born. Currently going through a rebranding > ARTIST IMAGINA.

My store is representative of work I am currently producing. Created digitally these abstractions are firmly rooted in the real world. Through imaginative picture making and image of thought these images appear / appeal to one's psyche and personal sense of beauty. They are, what I call, "simulated-collage paintings". I work from intuition, with intention. Digital art, contemporary conceptualism, abstract nature, new media, mixed-media are all descriptors of the work.

ENJOY!

ARTIST IMAGINA / GMV / Gina Vassay / Artist Statement

Art is a expression, an exploration. Each piece is an experience. My work can be a “happening” where the creative process is a direct abstraction of the physical world. This is not just observational, but the foundation of mark making, its personal message or symbolism. Artistic creation records thoughts, events, feelings, and an inner world or pattern that can be read by others for its aesthetics qualities, into the realm of beauty. The concept of beauty is innately present in my idea of what art is. My art is discovery and perception, combined with intellect. In my process of creating art, whether it be in the material or virtual world, I am using a variety of materials (analog or digital) in an alchemic way, perceiving how materials react together evolving into creative, original works of art. I want the viewer to have a imaginative, aesthetic experience, and a positive response to the work.