Lena Rising is a self-taught digital artist.
In her own words:
“photography was my first passion, but I have come to fall in love with the whole post-production phase, (editing, compositing, playing with colors, light and shade). That’s where I can truly pour from my imagination, creativity and heart – changing a depiction of reality, into a vision of what reality could be. Growing up in Scandinavia I was surrounded by wild nature and immersed in the vast flora and fauna of Fairytales, and I believe this childlike wonder and thrill of exploration is evident in my work”.
Francesca Brunello, curator at MADS Art Gallery in Milan, describes her work as follows:
 “The artworks by Lena Rising are magical visions of unexplored worlds where she reveals a new perspective on the relationship that has always been closely intertwined between the figure of the woman and that of Nature. We find ourselves walking, following the rhythm of nature, its pulsations so deep that we can see every cell within it. As if in a spell, we feel Mother Nature’s hand holding us as she accompanies our steps towards a new journey”. 
Léna’s works are particularly significant to this site, as the site was born of a creative writing class in English and Spanish, in which students are exposed to art and short film as points of departure to create their own fictions, or rather realities. And, according to Léna, “art is storytelling, and although I tell my personal stories, the emotions are at their core universal, so each viewer can also see their own story inside the artist’s story. And that’s when the real magic happens! When the viewer puts their own perspective on an artwork, suddenly a whole new and unexpected world appears. I find this two-way process between the artist and viewer to be the most precious connection”.
Léna graduated with Law degree from Lund University, Sweden, 1994. In 1998 she completed a Master in International Transactions, at Cambridge University, United Kingdom, and in 2001 she received a Master in Intellectual Property Law, from George Washington, DC, USA.

“The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again.” My first ever selfie. :) And basically no editing. It was just one of those magical sunsets on Sweden's West Coast
Avalon… Another pic from Sweden's West Coast. The first time I looked at the pic I thought... "Avalon". I don't know why, maybe because I know (you can't see it) but there's a small island just off the coastline, and the character looks to be waiting for a ferry to take her actoss.... "When the samba takes you
Out of nowhere
And the background's fading
Out of focus
Yes the picture's changing
Every moment
And your destination
You don't know it…
Avalon"
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.

“The Fluidity of Identity” - We wander through the ages of life, but we never really leave any one age completely behind us. Our youth, prime, maturity - they’re all within us, or within our reach, the question is what we identify with and what we can reconnect with... if we can tap into the source…
“Nothing is unreal as long as you can imagine like a crow”

It’s a mystery to me why so many people dislike crows. The collective noun says it all, a “murder of crows”. To me they’re the most fascinating and interesting of creatures. So let me introduce you to my extended family, residents of Kensington Gardens and my good friends for many years.
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for."

All I wanted to do was paint this leaf, and then all THIS happened…. 😉 Amazing how the simplest of painting jobs always gets messy! As things were getting messier I thought, why not make the most of it? And the result, (apart from this edit and one big white leaf), is that I now have a white-speckled camera and likewise remote control. Luckily the kitchen is already white. 🙃
Three is a Crowd

The idea was to give the whole image a newspaper-ish or cartoonish feel. A simple enough task… (or so I thought!!) Turned out it was not so simple!! 🙃 Hopefully it has some comedic element to it as a redeeming factor! 
𝕀𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕𝕤

I love the newness of a new year! It feels like an ideal time for finding new paths and challenges. But also for taking stock of the past…. After two years of creating digital art, I finally decided to do an inventory of my gallery, and I found myself unimpressed by the “sameness” of it all.

So now I’m thinking; how can I surprise myself? How can I step up my game? How can I step out of my comfort zone? But then I thought: How can you change your style, when your style just pre-existed within you?

Also, it’s a scary thing to do - stepping out of your comfort zone. In fact, just creating is a scary thing. When you create you give a bit of yourself. Our art is silently revealing our innermost self – invisible worlds laid bare. Even my light-hearted stories emanate from somewhere deep within. Anyway, those are all rhetorical ponderings, but if you can relate – or not – I would love to hear from you.

𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔: I wanted this image to symbolize all the contradictory emotions in the creative process, the ups and downs, from self-doubt to elation (those rare occasions when you feel you’ve created a gem). Speaking of gems; these were created from a photo I took of someone’s shattered car window, beautiful shiny shards strewn all over the pavement. The oddest things find a use somehow.
𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬; 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲. 𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬; 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨, 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬.

NOTE: 𝗜 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁. 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻.
"Big World"
Not a stutter! It’s a line from a song.

A map created for my mother, to add to her already vast collection. She especially loved the old maps that show the world as we once thought it looked. She would have spotted the symbolisms in this piece and smiled….

It’s not visible to the uninitiated but embedded in this map is my childhood. Those long summer holidays, spent in our cottage, deep in the forests of a land far away and long ago. That is decades ago now, but everything about that place and time is imprinted on my mind. I can vividly see the paths, feel the grass under my bare feet, the air heavy with the scent of pine trees … Everything became part of my DNA.

Where now is my Middle-Earth? I’m still searching, but I don’t think that any physical location can live up to the magic of a fairy-tale childhood. Also, maybe my journey is the road – not the arriving. What is your journey? Do you have a special haven on this planet or is wanderlust your guiding light?
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕣 ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 1/3)
𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑨𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔

He had seen her there so many times, whiling away the hours on her paintings, but now she had spotted a different kind of masterpiece! He wasn’t conceited about it. Oh, no! His magnetic effect on women was just like a law of nature – it never failed! He could feel her eyes on his back and he knew what would happen next….

As predicted, he could hear the clickety-clack of her high-heeled shoes following him down the dark alley. And he knew exactly where to lead her….

🄱🄴🄷🄸🄽🄳 🅃🄷🄴 🅂🄲🄴🄽🄴🅂
I’m in a “whither now” phase with my art so I decided to take a break from my usual stuff and do a just-for-fun series.

This trilogy is something that I’ve had planned for a long time. It’s a tribute to my favourite film genre: Film Noir. And a tribute to Mr. Right, of course! As for me, I admit I’ve always yearned to play the heroine-villain. And who hasn’t!? 

Which is your favourite film noir? Or maybe that genre isn’t your cup of tea at all? (If such a thing is even possible??) And if anyone's wondering; my fave is The Last Seduction. The heroine-villain is so deliciously evil and brilliantly played by Linda Fiorentino 
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕣 ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 2/3)
𝐎𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞!

He felt shaken and stirred as she advanced towards him. Why – oh, why - did he bring her here on that first fateful night!? And how did she even get in here? All her membership applications had been denied. He had made damned sure of that! Yet here she was, prancing in as if she owned the place.

His glass of Tyler Winery Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir - bursting with black cherry and redcurrant - gave him some comfort. But was it the right choice? In a situation fraught with danger, maybe a more appropriate tipple would be a Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey with its mouth-watering acidity and grippy cedar-like tannins!? His frazzled nerves made him hesitate…. Only the Head Sommelier could save him now!

The clickety-clack of those high-heeled shoes was getting ominously close…

🄱🄴🄷🄸🄽🄳 🅃🄷🄴 🅂🄲🄴🄽🄴🅂
↦↦↦ Is it just me, or are you too sensing that Mr Right is heading for an epic fall in the last episode? 
↦↦↦ Background from The Royal Automobile Club, (although it’s never looked this boudoir-esque before). I do like the make-over! Also, a hint and a nod to the wine club of 67 Pall Mall.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕣 ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 3/3)
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐢, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝟑𝟓𝟔, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!?

And of all the people driving past on this deserted road; why did it have to be her!? It was infuriating! She was driving that beat-up old Volvo of hers. Just as old as his beloved Heidi, but for some unfathomable reason her car was running flawlessly - year in and year out.

Maybe he could say he’d stopped for the view, but no. There was no view. And he needed a ride. He knew life wasn’t fair, but did it have to be this humiliating?

As they drove off in her rusty old jalopy, he glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the beautiful sheen of Heidi’s duck-egg blue paintwork. A chill went down his spine as it suddenly dawned on him: He would never see Heidi again!

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐲-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦! 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬….
¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕰𝖓𝖉 ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸

🄴🄿🄸🄻🄾🄶🅄🄴
↦↦↦ Any similarity to actual people, places, events, cars or clubs is purely coincidental! .... Or is it? 
↦↦↦ For anyone shedding a tear about Heidi’s untimely demise: Fret not!! She is neither broken down, nor abandoned! She is, in fact, thriving under the loving and expert care of Mick Pacey & Team on the Instagram account @Export_56 

Beautiful capture of Heidi by Mike Smith @photocar100 .

↦↦↦ Want your life written into Art (hi)Story? Whatever you do: don’t contact me! Or you’ll end up like Mr Right: rueing the day he met The Artist. 

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