"Pastel Reverie" Painting

Elena Hyams is a UK-based contemporary artist whose work explores the emotional connection between people, nature, memory and the inner world.
Working primarily with oil and acrylic, Elena creates expressive paintings that move between abstraction, figurative imagery and atmospheric landscapes. Her practice is driven less by literal representation and more by the desire to capture a feeling — a fleeting memory, a state of mind, a sense of place, or an emotion that is difficult to express in words.
Nature is a recurring presence throughout her work. Flowers, landscapes, organic forms, animals and fragments of the natural world become visual metaphors for human experience. Elena is particularly interested in the quiet dialogue between the external landscape and the emotional landscape within us.
Texture and colour play a central role in her process. Using palette knives and brushes, she builds layered surfaces where marks, colour and form interact intuitively. Some works are vibrant and energetic, while others embrace restrained, earthy and smoky tones to create a sense of stillness, intimacy and contemplation.
Elena’s approach is rooted in the traditions of modern abstract and Impressionist painting, while remaining open to contemporary influences and a more intuitive, personal visual language.
Her paintings are created to evoke rather than simply describe — inviting the viewer to pause, feel and find their own meaning within the work.
Elena studied at LARA Atelier Art School in London, where she further developed her practice in oil and acrylic painting, with a particular focus on palette-knife and brush techniques.
Her work has been exhibited in London and the UK, including Parallax Art Fair, The Holy Art Gallery, Sussex Art Fair, and other group exhibitions. Her paintings have also been selected for curated collections on Saatchi Art.
Elena continues to develop her practice from the UK, creating original paintings for collectors who are drawn to emotionally resonant, contemporary art inspired by nature and the human experience.