Our perception of our environment changes wherever we go. We have an attachment to our places of birth, our adopted homes and our travels and any little friendly reminder gives us a sense of peace.
Cecilia Mases, a Sunnyvale resident and artist in residence at Gallery 9, is showcasing her work through June 1 in “Over Land and Sea.” This showcase is about comparing landscapes and subtle differences you can see just by looking up in the sky. Mases, who is originally from Stockholm, Sweden and has lived in the United States since 2007, said clouds are her biggest inspiration. She said the sky connects everyone and no matter where she goes around the world, it makes her a little less homesick.
“In the fall, I was painting and thinking a lot about where my photos were taken and how the skies look different in places around the world,” she said. “Two of the paintings are from one photo from the Caribbean, lots of the paintings are inspired by photos from Sweden, a lot of from Lake Tahoe and from the beaches here, too.”
She said even at a Safeway parking lot she stops and takes a photo of the sky and transforms it into a painting. She also likes to mix the settings into one piece, either combining the colors of the clouds from one place into another landscape or adding more light and shadows. She said the paintings are not meant for viewers to easily identify a place; she wants people to interpret her work by just understanding the beauty of life.
“I lose myself in my work,” she said. “I always try to be the best I can be and to do something for the rest of the world. When I paint, and someone buys my paintings and afterward loves them or shows me a picture of it hanging there in their living room or their office, say my pieces help them get a little bit of rest from their stressful days. It makes me happy to hear and it feels like I’ve done something.”
She said art is a way for her to calm down and has kept her busy her whole life. In Sweden, she started as a graphic designer for an advertisement agency and when she moved to the United States she worked for the Swedish Women’s Educational Association (SWEA) publication as their managing editor. She always needed to create and since she was a child, found drawing and painting to be her calling and many people in her life commented that she should be a full-time artist.
It wasn’t until 10 years ago that she picked up the brush and oils as a career and was motivated to work in a studio. In 2017, she applied for a membership at Gallery 9 to display her art to the local community and receive feedback. She said working in a studio helps her focus, but having downtime with her family, bonding with people from her culture and working alongside other artists enriches her pieces even more.
“I don’t think an artist could stay in their studio and just paint, paint, paint, paint, paint, without getting any influences from outside,” she said. “I do hiking every Wednesday with a group of Swedish ladies and that gives me a lot of just energy for the painting, talking and getting a lot of views, seeing all the beautiful nature.”
She said art is important for everyone and is a way to exercise the part of your brain that isn’t involved with numbers. She said incorporating art in your life allows you to release your emotions and try to be a better person. She challenges people to look up in the sky and to discover something beautiful once in a while.
To learn more about the artist, visit ceciliamasesart.wordpress.com.
