I thought it was about time I introduced myself properly and talked about the story behind my art and how I got to where I am today!
The Early Years
I grew up in the South Wales valleys and I’ve loved to draw and make things for as long as I can remember. Every Christmas and birthday I always wanted art and craft supplies – I remember one Christmas receiving a HUGE pack of Crayola crayons with all colours a child could wish for! Dad used to paint on and off and Mum used to sew and knit most of our clothes, so creativity was always around us.
I was very lucky to have a great art teacher at school, but art college wasn’t such a great experience. I studied Fashion and Textiles design, but graduating in 1992 wasn't a great time to be trying to get a job in anything! I eventually managed to get a job as studio assistant at a printers and after a while switched to technical illustration, which developed my love of detail, even if it was digital art, not pencil on paper. Adulting took over and I changed careers moving into research, retraining in maths and statistics. I kept up various creative pastimes, but not much art was done during these times.
What Brought me Back to Art?
The benefits of art on mental wellbeing are often talked about, but in my case, it was physical health problems that bought me back to art. I was a passionate runner, taking part in many marathons and even some ultra marathons. In 2018 I was training for the London Marathon but didn’t feel right. Shortly after the race I started getting severe foot pain and there was also something wrong with hands. Later that year I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and had to stop running. I still had some art supplies, so I dug them out and started drawing again, and the rest they say is history!
My first few drawings weren’t great, and I tried a few different things, including drawing mandalas and urban sketching – basically anything that got me moving a pencil, pen or occasionally a brush across a piece of paper. I had some ancient coloured pencils that were a birthday present from my parents when I was in my teens, so I started watching tutorials, especially by my old college friend Lisa Ann Watkins, who I recently recorded a tutorial for. You can read all about that here. Lots of practice later and things started to click, so I set up my Instagram page and eventually my website, but I needed to call it something!
Why the name Seren Wen Art?
I’m sure people often wonder why I use Seren Wen Art instead of me real name. Well the answer is simple, my name is Ceri, and it often gets mispronounced outside of Wales, so I chose not to use it! (it’s just the Welsh spelling of Kerry). “Seren Wen” means white star in Welsh and is taken from our dog Bodie’s kennel club name. It seemed fitting as animals make up a huge part of what I love to draw!
I’m currently working on a portrait of Bodie, for progress updates follow me on Instagram (if you don’t already of course!)
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