Two White Masks Painting

Born in Ft. Monroe, Virginia, Elaine is a painter, mosaic artist, and enthusiastic gardener. The inspirations for her paintings come from the complex designs in nature, whether they are the wavy lines in an armadillo’s skin, the patterns in a seashell, or the multi-colored blooms in her Summer garden. She is drawn to the rich intricacies that nature provides and it is her hope that when people view her paintings, that they are moved by this world of vibrant colors and texture. What were originally hand-embroidered scenes are now paintings with a background that she has created from man-made prints. Her favorites consist of Indian batiks, insects, bird prints, and vivid flower prints. Each painting has as its foundation pieces of fabric placed with matte medium. This technique gives her work a textured quality and as the painting unfolds, she meticulously incorporates the patterns in the cloth and oil paints to bring the image into focus. . Part whimsical, part mystical, the paintings transport the viewer to a world beyond objects; a world of natural motifs and complex tapestries. Portraits, still lifes, dreams, and landscapes emphasize the natural world and underscore the otherness of the human-animal and its relationship to all beings. These complex surfaces and multi-layered works challenge the viewer to look beyond the ordinary and engage themselves in the story of what it means to be alive and rooted in the soul of living things.