Elaine Serenum

By Susan Ryder, with contributions from Elaine Serenum and Michaela Learner.

 

Elaine joined us in 2023. When we saw this amazing artwork we knew that they would make stunning cross stitch designs and fortunately Elaine agreed to work with us. I will let Elaine introduce herself:

 

Hello, I am Elaine,

I am a self-taught artist with a passion for creating whimsical artwork that will transport you to a magical world filled with colour, wonder and enchantment. I create each artwork with the aim to capture the essence of the natural world and infuse it with a touch of magic, resulting in pieces that are both captivating and inspiring.

I have always been drawn to the beauty of nature, but I never thought that I would become an artist. My background is in Finance and I always thought that this is where I was going to build my career.

I started drawing in my 20s. At that time I liked to draw with a pencil but I never studied art so I didn't have basic principles. I practiced drawing small objects like flowers, fruits and sometimes interiors. A few years later I experimented with acrylic and oil paints, but the whole process was very time consuming and I had a demanding job, so I couldn't really focus on art.

7 years ago, when I was 26, my world turned upside down as I got diagnosed with breast cancer. I believe that this is the time when my life vision completely changed and I stepped on my spiritual path which has led me to create magical nature-inspired art. When I draw, I escape the reality and transport into imaginary worlds which helped me during my treatment and gave me a sparkle to inspire others.

I hope my art will connect with you on a deeper level and bring a sense of peace and happiness. Thank you for taking time to learn about my work and I hope to continue sharing my art with you for years to come.

 

Elaine has lived in England since 2009, where she gained a Master’s degree in finance at Manchester Business School. She moved to London in 2011 where her mother and twin sister also live.

I am sure that you will agree that Elaine’s artwork is very special, and it is a privilege to put it into cross stitch. Cross stitch, like drawing and painting, is something in which we can get lost and forget about the problems of the real world, even for just a little while.

We chose two of Elaine’s paintings, ‘Winter Forest’ and ‘Into the Night’ to convert into cross stitch, and Michaela Learner, who is one of our talented cross stitch converters, was keen to do the conversions. The work enabled her to use her creativity too, in blending threads and using gold and silver threads for highlighting.

We asked Michaela to give us an insight as to how she goes about creating a cross stitch design from a print, this is what she told us....

Here’s how it starts – a lot of staring at threads and at the artist's print to select the right colour range.

Then comes a lot of stitching a lot of small blocks and mixing threads to get the right shades, so 2-3 days of work before the charting has even begun. It’s important to do this under natural light, if it’s done in the evening then you can return to it the next day and it looks completely wrong.

Then it’s time for the charting on computer software and the design is built up block-by-block. ‘Into the Night’ took 5 days to chart before the stitching began.

 

Michaela completes the cross stitch first and then the backstitch is added afterwards. She then adds the metallic highlights at the end (it’s not a rule, just personal preference!) Changes are made to the chart as the stitching progresses and if areas don’t work then they are unpicked until she’s happy.

I’m sure you’ll agree that all of the hours of hard work have paid off, these are truly stunning designs and all of us here at ‘Team Heritage’ are so proud of them! 

There are now six of Elaine's designs available - you can see them all by clicking here.

Elaine has a wonderful selection of prints which you can buy. Have a look on her website, www.elaineserenum.com