By: Grace Katich
Since the age of 6, Semadar felt a strong inclination toward becoming an artist. The Canadian-born artisan is widely recognized for her bold, colorful landscapes comprised of small dabs of color, a technique she refers to as neo-pointillism. Semadar is often credited with developing and refining this approach, which has led to her being acknowledged in art history, featured in international encyclopedias of art, and having her art included in prestigious private and public museum collections worldwide. Let’s explore the creative mind behind Semadar.
The creator often describes herself as having been “born an artist.” However, she felt her inspiration intensify significantly after the tumultuous events of 9/11. She expressed how that day she felt overwhelmed by emotions, and it became clear to her that she should pursue her true passion. “I’m still emotional; it changed my life. I realized then how fragile we are and how it is essential for human beings to be happy and to pursue their passions. Yes, I did study in another field in the past, but the art has always been living within me.”
With passion at the forefront, Semadar delves into books and research as a mechanism to conceptualize the image of her artwork. Her inspiration often stems from the knowledge she gains, using events in the world around her to fuel her narrative. She shared that she is currently working on a collection entitled Turbulence, Cosmic Turbulence, with the first painting being inspired by the COVID virus. “You have to think of it as a recipe—a recipe where you need to know how to prepare the meal, but it’s a recipe. So you put together your knowledge of the art, the art rhetorics, with your interest in philosophy, and express the cosmic existence that we have. So it’s very complex.”
Is there a method to Semadar’s painting process, you may wonder? To some extent, yes, but it’s not strictly defined. She maintains organization in her studio, contrary to the common assumption that every artist’s studio may look chaotic. She explains her creative process as a procedure—a mental image forms in her head, she sketches it, and she then sets the mood with music that fits the vibe for the creation of the painting. “It is quite important for me that I go through this process that might seem maybe banal or senseless, but it’s important.”
The artist shared her love for painting outdoors, while in the winter she considers her studio the center of her soul. However, Semadar is very mobile with her art. She has painted in her garden paired with an easel, surrounded by tree shrubs and flowers, and even on the balcony of a hotel room in Miami, surrounded by wind and sea. “But all this, it just gave me the flexibility to be able to create no matter where I am, as long as I have my smock, my music, my brushes, and my canvases.”
Semadar’s most notable accomplishment is being regarded as the pioneer of neo-pointillism, which is central to her artistic practice. How did neo-pointillism come to her? She set out to demonstrate art as a language, learning the rhetorics to express her thinking, then training and learning the alphabet of said language. She focused on studying the master formula of classicism to impressionism. Semadar continued with her studies of impressionism, polychrome, and chromic, leading her to feel her thesis resonate with her. “I know it’s very complex, but there is nothing more beautiful than understanding colors and how colors express your vision on canvas. So by combining together the rhetorics of the impressionist and pointillist with the chromatic, that is where my art differs from my predecessors, and that is what neo-pointillism is all about. Yes, I do use what people call dots. I prefer to describe them as brush strokes because they are the smallest brush strokes.”
Each of Semadar’s paintings tells a rich and layered narrative, many about the planet. She feels there is a spiritual connection between the tangible and the intangible, where many objects have multi-faceted meanings. Reflecting on her thinking, she explains, “A tree represents a lot of things. It represents the roots that we have that are in the earth, but also branching out, always trying to reach into the intangible, trying to reach higher.” She expresses how the motif in her work is the beauty of the planet and the complexity of the earth. She finds the narratives for her paintings through her spiritual elements, tapping into her soul.
Where can you catch Semadar at her next endeavor? The artist is currently participating in the well-known LA Art Show. For the past six years, LA has been one of Semadar’s favorite destinations. She loves the conversations about art that LA is known for, and she feels inspired by it. “I’m very happy to be inspiring new artists, but mainly to encourage them to study, learn, and create. We, as artists, are messengers of our society. We represent our society. So if you have culture and if you have knowledge, it’s a privilege. And it’s great to share it with everybody.”
To learn more about Semadar’s art and journey, visit santinasemadarpanetta.com/.
Published by Stephanie M.
