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…
For some months, I’ve been feeling a bit ‘stalled’ artistically. In part, the time consumed by my ‘day job’ simply didn’t leave much for artistic work, in time, or energy. I managed to comfortably occupy myself creatively with simple pen & ink note cards, which I get considerable joy out of creating, and even more using them as my own stationary, to communicate with friends, family, and loved ones far away.
Art doesn’t have to be serious, complicated, or big. 🙂
I spent time sketching other, bigger, projects and made a point of making notes about ideas for other pieces.
My sketchbook is full.
Life has been comfortably good, with the usual ups and downs a human being can expect over time, and that’s been enough for contentment, generally, but hasn’t tended to motivate me artistically. I’ve had resources, space, inspiration – and now and then, even the time to work – something has been missing, and even now I am not sure what that missing element was.
On a Friday in May – Friday the 13th, actually – I woke up to a terrible morning. In the process of turning the day around, I ended up in the studio, and actually painting… I haven’t stopped. Whatever was missing has been found. 🙂  I’ll be posting images and details of the new work over the next several days, before heading to the trees for additional inspiration.
“Potentially Anything” 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink and glow 2015
Painted on a rainy late summer morning, feeling inspired by love, and life; I started this piece thinking about lush green forests, and new life, and finished it thinking about space travel, and contemplating the future of humankind, and how vast our potential is, viewed from the perspective of how much we do not yet know. It is a piece I find myself hoping communicates some sense of how each moment is potentially the seed of some future greatness, and how precious our uncertainty is on our path of discovery. The basic image is of a gravid woman surrounded by whirling motes of dust, imagination, atomic particles, or… really…anything.
“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.
“Anxiety” 10″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/ceramic 2011
“Anxiety” was painted in 2011, and speaks to a common experience for many of us. There’s not much more to say about this piece; personifying Anxiety, deifying it, colors so many of our lives. We live in its embrace, or in its shadow. I painted her, myself, hoping that her visage looking back would make her easier to conquer. I don’t think that it did, but here she is. This piece is for sale for $250.
“Emotion and Reason” 24″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas w/ceramic details and glow 2012
“Emotion and Reason” is a piece of work that straddles changes in style, palette, materials, and inspiration. It was painted at a point in my life when the chaos of getting through menopause was wreaking havoc in my relationships, personally and professionally, and much of my experience of attempting to create order and make sense of it was complicated by the emotional side of my experience. Through it all, I had the support of my partner, who exists more on the rational side of life than the overtly emotional, contrasting my own experience at that time which listed far toward the emotional side. This painting is inspired by our shared experience of life and love – and of emotion and reason. (It’s also not for sale, being in the private collection of my partner.)
Detail of “Emotion and Reason”
This piece is also lovely when charged, and shot in dim light (or darkness).
“Emotion and Reason” glowing
“Gypsy Drums” 5″ x 7″ watercolor on paper 1996
Like it’s companion piece, “Gypsy Dancer”, “Gypsy Drums”  is a small watercolor on paper that was painted on a weekend at a local renaissance fair, in 1996. This small piece was inspired by the dancing of an associate of that time, named Margrit, an exotic and passionate Armenian woman of great beauty.  Shortly after these pieces were painted, I changed artistic direction and began to work almost exclusively in acrylic on canvas, in the abstract, and exploring mixed-media work. I have often found that between big changes in style or focus, I return to small watercolors, or pen & ink sketches to ‘get by on’ creatively.
“Gypsy Dancer” 5″ x 7″ watercolor on paper 1996
“Gypsy Dancer” is a small watercolor on paper that was painted on a weekend at a local renaissance fair, in 1996. I had made a major life change, and my artistic focus and direction often also change as a result. This is one of a handful of pieces of small relaxed watercolor sketches I did just before I dropped everything to work in bolder, larger acrylics in the abstract. This small piece, and the companion piece “Gypsy Drums” were inspired by the dancing of an associate of that time, named Margrit, an exotic and passionate Armenian woman of great beauty.
“What About My Heart?” 8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas with glow. Painted for “Blue Shirt Day” 2014
Yesterday, I painted “What About My Heart” for “Blue Shirt Day” a World Bullying Prevention day, showing solidarity and standing opposed to bullying. Please treat people well. When you see someone being treated badly, please make a point of objecting. It’s that easy. Here’s a relevant website, for resources.
Today is World Bullying Prevention day. It’s ‘Blue Shirt Day’ for Stomp Out Bullying(.org). Â Bullying is no joke, and people are hurt by it’s callousness and brutality every day. Â If you see it, stop it; words are enough. Bullies function because people aren’t ‘calling foul’ on their bad acts. Today is a good day to make a point of calling it out when you see it, and saying it’s not okay. Today is a good day to set an example; be the change you wish to see in the world. Â Teach Wheaton’s Law – it’s a great starting point for treating others well. Â The Four Agreements, too, teach us all we could ever need to know about treating each other well. Â We have all the resources in the world to build a culture that discourages bullying. Â Please take time to do what you can, yourself, in your family and in your community, to send a message that bullying is not okay.
If it can be said that ‘it stops being funny when someone gets hurt’, then I suggest it isn’t funny in the first place. Please help end bullying, every day.
“Augsburg” 5″ x 7″ watercolor on paper 1985
In the early 80’s, when I began to paint seriously, I painted primarily in watercolor, and on paper. This small piece (5″ x 7″) painted of the city of Augsburg, where I lived at that time, is very typical of the period. Painted in 1985, it is reminiscent, for me, of the delicate watercolor and gouache illustrations in so many of the children’s books I grew up with. This watercolor remains in my personal collection out of sentiment, however it is available for sale.
The Art of M. Elisabeth Howell 