Sparkle and glow
Antonina Zenin, Evening Glow—Point Lobos, oil, 20 x 24.
This story was featured in the August 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
“WE DREAM IN colors borrowed from the sea.” So goes a popular inspirational quote that’s been printed on mugs, cards, and T-shirts. For Antonina Zenin, however, the ocean’s profundity of color isn’t merely the stuff of dreams. Time and again, the plein-air artist has brought the colors of the sea to life on her canvas, often in the morning or early evening light, when they are most radiant on the water. “I cannot tone it down,” confesses Zenin, who considers colorist Ovanes Berberian a key mentor. “I like an impressionistic, colorful look and feel that creates excitement.”
-
- Antonina Zenin, Cormorants at Sunrise, oil, 36 x 36.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Asilomar After Storm, oil, 30 x 36.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Carmel Dunes, oil, 30 x 36.
Peruse the contemporary impressionist’s oeuvre of oil paintings and you’ll find numerous lavishly textured seascapes that sparkle and glow in chromatic harmony. There are white-capped waves unfurling upon pink and purple boulders; incoming tides lapping against the shore in luminous, gold-flecked ripples; and coastal cypress trees tinged with the fiery glimmers of a sunset. Many of Zenin’s works are inspired by painting trips to the Monterey Peninsula area—just a short drive south from her home in San Jose, CA—where Point Lobos State Natural Reserve and other favorite areas greet her warmly like old friends. “As soon as I get there, I feel like a different person,” says the artist. “It’s the feeling of happiness the ocean gives you.”
Even as a child growing up on the Russian island of Sakhalin, Zenin found joy in the sea. She relished the short nautical journeys she occasionally took with her father, a sailor who worked on large seafaring cargo ships. She also loved to paint, and when her family moved inland, Zenin started taking lessons at a local art school. She continued painting even after earning her degree in graphic design and embarking on a successful career in that field. Ultimately, it was the beauty of California’s coast, where Zenin moved in 1996, that inspired her to learn to paint en plein air in the tradition of the early California Impressionists.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Morning at Point Lobos, oil, 30 x 30.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Crimson Sunset, oil, 36 x 36.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Morning at Whalers Cove, oil, 24 x 20.
Today Zenin is scooping up top honors for her works from prestigious groups like the California Art Club and the American Impressionist Society. Her award-winning strategy hinges upon one main goal: to convey to viewers the emotion she feels when she observes a scene, be it the ocean, a floral still life, or the sand dunes of Carmel. “I go after the effects of light,” says Zenin, “and everything else is secondary.” —Kim Agricola
representation
James J. Rieser Fine Art, Carmel, CA; Michael Seewald Galleries, Del Mar, CA; www.tonyazenin.com.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Morning Hour—Point Lobos, oil, 20 x 24.
-
- Antonina Zenin, Point Lobos, oil, 20 x 24.
This story was featured in the August 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS
• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine
• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, videos & more
• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook