I begin a piece by trying to find the beauty in nature either in a forest with a beautiful spot of color, a piece of ripe fruit, depth of colors in the ocean, the grace of an animal or a beautiful garden. Color is very important to me as an artist and represents the abundance and richness of life. My work reflects positive moments in time and reminds me of the goodness of life. I try to capture the vitality of life in my paintings.
I am originally from the East coast and grew up in a household where art was greatly appreciated. My grandfather was a cartoonist in his spare time and my mother loved watercolor and gardening. I started taking art classes 6 years ago and found that I really enjoyed creating art. I was fortunate to find outstanding and dedicated teachers in Jim Smyth, Brigitte Curt, Nancy Call Torres and Elio Camacho. Gardens were always an important part of my life growing up and I love capturing the richness and diversity of flowers. I love the color red; to me this color represents vibrancy and warmth. Some of my favorite subjects are red roses, peonies and beautiful ripe watermelons.
I work primarily in pastels and oils. When I do pastels, I love the way I can keep adding layer upon layer of color on my artwork. Pastel taught me to be bold with color. I will do a pastel of my still life before I do the still life in oil. This step helps me lay out the composition and establishes my color patterns. I am a member of the following associations: Society of Western Artists, California Art Club, Los Gatos Art Association, and the American Impressionist Society.
Visit Ellen’s website at:
www.ellenhowardart.com
