2022 MSAA Art Showcase Artist of the Month

Carmella Certion – Philadelphia, PA

I am an artist, gerontologist, and marriage and family therapist currently living with MS. It all began with a simple painting of a cat for my granddaughter’s room, after I gave it a mini-makeover last summer during the pandemic. A makeup artist by trade (I’m known as Nhjia Abyan) I was unable to “beat” faces so I now “beat” canvases. I mostly paint abstracts, land, and cityscapes and I’ve only taken one class. My studio is located in my Philadelphia, PA bedroom where I mostly paint in bed due to a plethora of health challenges. I find painting relaxing and it also helps ward off depression and anxiety, which I suffer from periodically. I love to use bright colors, geometric shapes and texture in my work and my philosophy is simple: Art should be fun!

Reine du Carnaval