Walking into Valley Artisans Market, you can’t miss the vibrant tones and textures of Gena Semenov’s oil paintings. Her bold, colorful interpretations of animals and nature exude joy.Whimsy also often finds its way into her paintings, such as a small dachshund peering out of a high-heeled pump and a Boston Terrier chomping on a slipper. A tuxedo cat appears mesmerized by a goldfish swimming around in a small tabletop bowl, while an inky black shorthair sniffs a vase of bright purple tulips. No matter the animal, Gena expertly captures its spirit through color and texture.
Then there is her portrait of Bigfoot, a hulking deep blue and purple fantasy with a bemused expression.Her favorite subjects also include landscapes, still life, and portraiture.

Growing up in rural central Massachusetts outside the town of Winchendon, Gena was an only child whose mother encouraged her to draw pictures when she was bored.Her schoolteachers also gave her much positive reinforcement to pursue art. She went on to graduate from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL and also studied under the French fauvist painter, Marco Bronzini.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Gena applied her graphic design skills to work in advertising and for corporations for a couple decades. She also taught art at a Montessori school in Florida for eight years.

Recently she moved to upstate New York to be closer to family and fell in love with Cambridge. She established her home with a studio there and is a new member of Valley Artisans Market.
When she taught art to young students, Gena says, she had the chance to dabble in papier mâché, gelli printmaking, graphic design, and digital art. But oil painting remains her first love. She enjoys the way it “helps you go into a zone where you lose yourself and the worries of the moment while you’re painting.” She approaches the creative process flexibly. The vision I have in my mind is always different from the final product, which takes on a life of its own,” she says. “I’ve had to learn to go with the flow of it. I guess it’s like a writer whose characters come alive in the writing process. The writer finds that they have to change the direction of the story because the characters demand it.”

Gena’s current goal is to spend more time painting landscapes. “I’d like to try my hand at plein-air painting,” she says. She’ll also continue experimenting with gelli prints. “I hope to make some cool prints that are more cohesive with my artwork genre.”