Alina Deutsch

Alina Deutsch was born in Bucharest, Romania and has lived in the United States for the last 450 years, mostly in Westchester County, New York. In addition to being both a successful electrical engineer and a cookbook translator and publisher, she enjoys painting and multi-media crafts.  In this, she has been inspired by her mother, Estera Rogers, now 93, who has created beautiful oil paintings for many years.  Both women have followed in the footsteps of their relative, Klein Hanni, who painted in her native town of Deva, in Transylvania, throughout her life.  Alina has been creative for over 40 years but 2009 has given her a new impetus. She retired from her engineering career and found new solace in her art. Suddenly she felt re-energized and confident, as if reconnecting with an old friend, her love of painting. She is now devoting her full-time to creative pursuits. Alina has painted with acrylic on canvas and large straw mats, created large wall-hangings made of felt  sewn on canvas, and built various Styrofoam and wire constructions. She is a self-taught artist that has visited major museums around the world, countless art galleries, and artist studios. She has also taken numerous art history classes. She was a member of the Katonah Museum Artists' Association and has participated in the May 2010 Open Studio exhibit. She also   exhibited "Spring and Fall Colors" at the Mt. Kisco Public Library during June 2010, participated in the group show at the Katonah Public Library during November 2010,   had a solo exhibit "Nature's Brilliant Colors" at  the Community Lounge of Country Estates & Manors in Katonah, NY during January and February 2011, and a group exhibit at the West University Art Festival in Houston, in October 2014. She currently focuses on commissioned work. She considers herself a contemporary impressionist with a strong preference for pointillism. However, she always keeps the figurative undertone even in her abstract pieces. Alina was inspired by the brilliant spring and fall colors of Westchester County, New York, where she lived for 35 years, with its rich foliage and rolling hills, more currently by the Texas Hill Country, as well as the many wonderful places she traveled around the world. She was also  fascinated with the fragile and diverse ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef that is  in danger due to natural and environmental  effects.  Currently, after moving to Houston, Texas, she also started focusing on the vibrant energy of the distant galaxies and nebulae images captured by the Hubble telescope. This new interest is rooted in her teenage fascination with astronomy. Alina started her departure from impressionism with the Coral Reef paintings and used the galactic images to transition to an abstract expressionist style.  In all her work, she continues to explore the hidden beauty in the natural environment and considers many of her creations to be allegories of the hidden treasures that life can offer us everyday.