Elena’s initial direction and interest in art making originated in analog photography, carrying her Canon camera everywhere she went and setting up a darkroom in her apartment bathroom in Basel, Switzerland. Moving later to the San Francisco Bay Area in California, Elena started studying abstract painting with her husband Mark, an established painter himself. That enriching background enabled her to find her own style of painting. Through trial and error, the painting techniques developed quickly until she found something that was hers.
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Elena often starts a new creation with small color studies on paper. Their assistance in her larger paintings is vast. Exploring colors, hues and shades and how they affect each other is at the core of her approach to painting. Color theory is an important part of the process in creating these large canvases. As Elena states: “Brush work is essential, the details are carefully shaped and manipulated as I proceed. It takes steady hands and an awareness and sensitivity for the desired lines I seek.” Playing with reflections, mixing paint and exploring colors, her goal is to attempt and capture a static energy in her canvases.
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Elena exhibits her paintings in galleries and her works have been acquired by collectors from around the world. Often working side by side with her husband in their studios in Oakland and Venice, California, the work space can be a source of inspiration. On a beautiful day sunlight pours through a twenty foot wall of windows, enabling experimentation with light and paint, casting shadows and silhouettes on the walls.
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“While painting I often feel that confidence is an essential part of my artistic process, specifically how the work has evolved over the years. The more natural the movement, the more natural the look of the surface becomes. It’s a journey through various colors and shapes, inspirations and observations, where I can pick the areas that speak to me the most, and put them together in the search of harmony. It’s important to work in a concentrated direction on the painting before me, so the desired image can come forth in a natural way. I strongly believe that there is always something blossoming from something else that hovers in our consciousness, and following the directions of your own light, will cast new shadows along the way. Ultimately it’s important to remember to have fun and to enjoy the flow of color.”
Elena Erickson Paintings 