A pot of autumn chrysanthemums on a table inspired this piece. I enjoy using the bright hues of yellow, orange, and red pastels. There’s something fun and freeing about painting flowers, and an innocence and simplicity the riot of bright colors. Flowers seem somehow undemanding and joyful, and of all the pieces I’ve recently painted, my eyes keep coming back to this one.
An exploration of light and color, inspired by summer Dahlias at a local market. This piece is done using Henri Roche pastels on Ampersand pastel board.
It’s been a bit more than a month since I made the switch from many years (a lifetime, really) of working in acrylic and 3D mixed media. So much has happened since then, and I’ve been enjoying my first explorations in pastel. I’m definitely enjoying the brands I’d selected (a combination of Sennelier and Henri Roche, and a small assortment of iridescent hard pastels from Sakura’s Nouvelle Carre’ line, some of which I’d apparently purchased “back in the day”, and lay long-forgotten in a box).
I took a couple days of solo creative time, late in July, and “played in the colors” without any specific agenda or rigid goals. It was very much an exploratory time, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The results were sometimes a bit humbling (how am I this messy??), and often satisfying and delightful.
Still, it’s not about neat vs messy, so much as the results, and I am pleased with those. I’ve surprised myself, too; of the new work, one piece is already sold, and two others are already spoken for. I did not expect that. This works for me. I also did not expect this medium to feel so… wholesome? Pure? Freeing.
I’ll no doubt do a post for each of these individually at some point, although they are part of the same weekend’s work. I hope you enjoy taking a look at my most recent work, and the first in this medium.
I recently went wild re-organizing my studio. During the pandemic my studio has also served as my office (as is the case with many artists, I have a “regular” job to keep things steady), and working from home has turned out so splendidly that it’s become a professional preference and a lifestyle. I was overdue to put real thought and permanence into how my working space is arranged. With that done, I have also found myself feeling more inspired. Feels good. I’m hoping to make a more regular practice of posting here, new work as it comes, and also getting some of the older work uploaded and made available for sale.
Yesterday I spent time painting and thinking about my “workflow” in my studio. I finished one small piece and started a couple others. It feels good to be back in the studio. The feeling of joy and creative energy hit the canvas as “California Poppies & Summer Sunshine”, a small 6″x6″ acrylic on canvas, with glitter and glow. I’ll photograph this piece again with other light sources once it has completed dried (there is a lot of glow on this one).
This small piece is intentionally playful. It’s been a lovely summer, and feels worth a little celebration. That’s what this piece has in mind. The smaller image above is intended to provide a perspective a bit more like walking past it (hanging in a corridor, perhaps). If you’d like a closer look…
I’ll update this post with the glow-in-the-dark charged up, later this week.
My recent burst of inspiration resulted in some fun work in glow, mostly pretty light-hearted. It was a gray rainy day, too, and the filtered light and overcast skies resulted in creating some sunshine on canvas.
“Irises” 8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas w/glow
This one results in a bright “moonlight” silhouette when charged.
“Irises” charged and glowing.
Spring flowers haven’t bloomed in the garden quite yet, but they bloom in my studio. 🙂
I haven’t been as artistically productive this year as I had hoped to be, but when inspiration struck I was ready, and that made quite a lot of difference for artistic ease and general quality of life. I’m glad you stuck around! There’s more to come…
“Sunset Meadow” 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink, gold, and glow 2015
This smallish piece, at just 11″ x 14″, is the first painting on canvas created in my new studio space. Painting from the perspective of feeling inspired and in love, it is a recollection of those sun-infused summer evenings when the orange glow of sunset seems to fill all the space between things. This painting is in a style I have recently favored, with an acrylic background on which a more delicate image in pen & ink is drawn. I used a gold leaf pen to add warmth to the details, and a bit of glow to give the impression of fireflies and hints of natural phosphorescence that I remember from childhood.
This 11″ x 14″ piece is available for $150.
The Art of M. Elisabeth Howell 