Biography of Serena Rose

Serena Rose was born in Lake Wales, Florida on December 9th, 1953. When she was three, her father died and her mother moved her and her sister to Knoxville, Tennessee to be near her parents. Serena grew up in a modest Christian home with her mother, step father, and 4 siblings.


Her love for nature showed up at a very early age and she would disappear into the nearby woodlands daily for hours at a time. For years she explored her private world in the woods and developed a vivid imagination, which was filled with romantic and magical ideas. Little did she know that these early impressions would profoundly effect her artistic direction many years later.


Serena Rose's artistic interest began at a young age as well, and she was included in a group exhibition and won her first award at age nine. Though she had an artistic interest, she didn't take it very seriously until later on. At age 19 she and her quadriplegic boyfriend, under her care, traveled around the country, off and on for several years together, in a special van customized for him to live in. In spite of his handicap, he was a very gifted artist and helped to rekindle Serena's interest in art. They decided to spend one winter in beautiful Key West and Serena fell in love with it. They returned to Tennessee and after a thoughtful decision, she moved back to Key West to live. There she met Paul Stevens, a dynamic figure painter and successful gallery owner of many years in Key West. Mr. Stevens recognized Serena's innate talent, and after 8 months of her begging him to teach her, he surrendered and took her on as a full time apprentice at his studio on the beach.


Her studies with Mr. Stevens were very serious and intensive. He demanded that she devote all of her time to the program he laid out for her. She worked and lived at his studio for three years concentrating on drawing, composition and design. They had access to many models, due to the location of the studio, so there was much figure drawing going on in the studio. They went to gardens in the Key West area to draw on location. She was drawing everything from banyan trees, to cloud formations, to water drops on leaves. Her teacher drilled it into her head that drawing, composition and design were to be learned first, before painting. In the third year of her studies, he let her begin with color use. He taught her some basic color principles and painting techniques. Other than these early intensive lessons from Mr. Stevens, she has had no formal training in art.


After her three-year apprenticeship was over, she returned to Knoxville and continued a deep friendship with her mentor until his sad passing in 1999. She continued on for many years developing her skill at drawing and painting, never feeling she had learned enough to do what she really wanted to do, which was to illustrate children's books. She was attracted to things that tell a story. That love of story telling shows best in her current works, which take the artist back to those days as a young girl in the woods in her private world full of romantic and magical ideas.


In 1991, Serena opened Serena Rose Gallery and Studio at the World's Fair Park in Knoxville. She exhibited and sold her art at the gallery and taught classes in drawing. Her studio became a classroom for the Knoxville Museum of Art, the University of Tennessee, The Summer Arts & Sciences Academy, Noah's Ark after school program, and private tutoring. Because of the popularity of her classes in drawing realism, teaching became a full-time preoccupation for five years and over 750 students studied under her.


The increasing demands on her time caused by teaching and running her gallery allowed little time to paint or care for her garden. Therefore, in 1996, she quit teaching and closed her gallery so that she could focus on her art and garden. Her garden has become an integral part of her art, and an exotic setting for her models. Now she is focused on a continuing series of paintings that best reflect her love of life, nature and the child that still lives within her. Those early childhood dreams are becoming her own reality through her art.


Serena's art has been featured in many magazines. She sells her originals and publishes her art through her studio as limited edition giclees. She sells her art on an international basis through her website and magazine exposure. She has many happy clients, including her most loyal fan, companion and husband of 18 years, Ed Emory.