DENISE CERRO

-Denise, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today, both personally and as an artist.
 

It may be trite to say...but I had no choice but to be an artist. I colored and drew may way right through childhood, young adulthood and when it came time to get out in the working world, I always seemed to fall into creative careers. My first job(s) were in retail display and visual presentation...back in the day when props and mannequins were a wonderful canvas to create a mood. I loved building and painting props, and dressing the mannequins to tell story. This was a wonderfully creative job, everyday a new story to tell to attract the viewer, much like a painting.

 

Painting props led me right into my next creative career as a faux and mural painter. Perfect timing as retail was changing and moving away from mannequins and props to folding clothes on tables for display...and about that time faux finishing was having a resurgence in the design world...so I jumped right in! Personally, this was a little scary as a single mother with responsibilities, but I knew I would be able grow as an artist and a business person if I removed the income ceiling a job offered and stepped out on my own. I learned the ins and outs of faux and mural work as I went along, if someone asked me if I could do a project I always said yes, even if I didn’t know how to do it I’d figure it out...that’s how I grew. I continued this career, hired employees, and painted murals and faux finishes in many custom and high-end homes in San Diego...it was a wonderful career, again something creative and different with every job.

 

As a self-taught artist, these two careers have brought me to where I am today. Display and visual presentation taught me composition firsthand, learning to place objects on a canvas in a way that draws the viewer in. My love of building and painting props, faux finishes and murals paved the way for me to move from walls to more manageable surfaces like canvas. I often explore using faux finish techniques, like Venetian plaster and paint glazes, in my work on canvas and cradle boards.