MISKA IN MANHATTAN

I was born Emily Salemann, a child of immigrants with German, Russian, and Serbian heritage. My painting career began after taking my first step into the gallery of Angel Botello in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was living nearby in St. Thomas, USVI, and started making copies of Botello’s work for my home on the island. When I returned to the Seattle area, I continued to self-educate by painting my favorite Picasso, Van Gogh, Klimt, and Matisse compositions. To my surprise, many people wanted to buy them! I decided to combine what I learned from each of the masters into a unique style of my own and try out life as a painter. It has been a joyful experience!

My work incorporates a unique combination of reflective and iridescent tones in palettes ranging from earthy to vibrant. My abstract figurative paintings reflect contentment with day-to-day life, love of family and friends, and the simple pleasures of the world around us. I love to paint land and seascapes, farm animals, wildlife, florals, and large modern abstracts. I always add an element of gratitude by including spiritual works in all my collections.

After showing my paintings among a large group of fantastic artists at DragonFire Gallery in Cannon Beach for 18-plus years, I decided to pursue my life’s dream and opened my own gallery in this beautiful small coastal town. Miska Studio Gallery opened on January 1st, 2021.

Life is full of surprises and when called to move to New York, I jumped at the opportunity to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming part of the Hamptons artist community.