We recently connected with Lena Marie and have shared our conversation below.

Lena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on is a portrait of Maya Angelou and Oprah. At the time I was doing background for the movie Selma and it was one of the first movie projects I had been apart if since moving to Atlanta. Things in my personal life weren’t going so well and being on set was an escape from my reality. While on set I had many hours of down time so I would bring my markers, pencils and paper every day to work on the picture and other sketches. People on set told me I should show Oprah and I was like yeah okay..lol Like that was ever gonna happen. When I saw Oprah she was busy. I didn’t have any opportunity to pull her aside and show her the portrait. Fast forward a few weeks. The movie ended and I was at home on the computer. I received a message on IG from someone I was on set with inviting me to Selma for the March in January of 2015. Oprah and a few celebs were going to walk the bridge where there were performances from John Legend and Common. In the message he said bring your portrait. I put my contact info on the back and framed the image. It was about a two and a half hour drive. When we arrived there were tons of people. There was a barricade from people attending and the celebs who were walking with Oprah. Now the friend that I attended with was really tall. He could see all the action and I couldn’t . He notified me the Oprah was getting close so he offered to had my painting to Oprah. When he came back he told me Oprah said thank you and her security has holding it throughout the March. I saw that the photo was in a news article and I was so happy to see it. Even though I wasn’t mentioned and Oprah never reached out, I was still proud to have a picture I created apart of an historical event.

Selena, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am from Washington, DC and attended Duke Ellington School of the Art. This is the same high school that Dave Chappelle, Laman Rucker and Clifton Powell attended. I have always had the ability to draw and have always favored portraits. To capture the essence of someone’s likeness with a pen or a few brush strokes is astonishing. After high school I attended an all womens art college in Philadelphia. I returned home after college with big dreams but around 2009 I got married. I endured years pain and grief since I found myself in a tumultuous and abusive relationship. I never gave up on my hopes and dreams so I divorced my husband and moved to Atlanta around 2014. Over the next few years I went from being background to having speaking lines and appearing on shows and movies. I love being in the production world so when I was not in front of the camera, I was behind the scenes as a stand-in, production associate or Transpo. From time to time I was commissioned to do art for talent. I would advertise through social media or give a small sample as a wrap gift for wrap parties. There are plenty of celebs with a hand drawn portrait of me in Atlanta. One thing about me is I never want to look like what I’ve been through. There are some friends I have that never knew the pain I endured. I want to be an example of someone who hit rock bottom and picked themselves back up. When I moved to Altanta I came with $200.00 and plan. That plan was to peruse a career in production and stay a freelance artist. Today I am still in production and a freelance artist. You can contact me on my IG for commissions on @artbylena24. Over the years I have picked up a few business ventures. I believe you should always learn a new craft. I learned how to trade. Life as a day trader has its perks. I have the financial freedom to fund other ventures. My daughter has picked up a knack for creating and I help her with her YouTube channel by editing videos. Everyone in my family pitches in to assist my daughter and her cousin for their YouTube channel “Crafty Fun with Katie and Lily” Katie is the driving force of my inspiration.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is the idea of working hard for someone else in order to be financially free. I felt pressured by family to get a “ real job” because to them a real job guaranteed security, when in reality there is a cap on how much you can make and a job can let you go without any notice. When it comes to commissions, I can charge what I am worth and enjoy creating. If I was more focused on marketting myself and my brand on multiple platforms, I would be where a ton of artist are today where they have established their art style with many followers.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is making a blank sheet of paper come to life. To know that I can draw a child in the costume of their favorite action hero or paint a lovely couple in their favorite vacationing spot just with a few pictures is rewarding. To see the look on their face or hear verbal expression when they see my depiction of them is priceless. As an artist, you can always create to generate income. When the pandemic hit, I started an Etsy page making t-shirts. Yes the market was competitive but the true joy is coming up with ways to stand out from everyone else. The topping on the cake is when my daughter said she wanted to create an Etsy page as well. Hearing the ideas she came up with and helping her bring her ideas to life is very satisfying as a parent. As a creative you have the tools to run a business because you can design advertisements, create webpages and learn how to follow trends to keep up with demands. As a creative there is never a dull moment. I always push myself to try different art styles and try different mediums. My most recent painting is of Micheal Jackson from Moonwalker when he was transforming into the robot.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artworkbyselena.wix.com/illustrator
• Instagram: @artbylena24
• Youtube: Crafty Fun With Katie and Lily
• Other: Tiktok @artbylena24 @lenamariespeaks

Image Credits
Martin and Malcolm Painting Oprah Winfrey