Lauren Elyse’s colorful, dynamic paintings are a reminder that joy can be found both outside and inside, within ourselves. An interdisciplinary artist (trained at the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts), Elyses toolbox includes acrylic, watercolor, oil, and even charcoal. She also doesn’t exclude herself to one medium at a time, with the end result oftentimes a vibrant mixture of mediums and techniques.
According to Elyse, using bold strokes creates a more dynamic feel to her paintings: “For me, it creates a more energetic feel when swipes of paint slide through one another, catch and meld to bring out a subtle color blend, and in the wake leaves the high relief and impression of my brush’s intentional path,” she writes.
With nature being a common theme throughout her work, this dynamic quality also highlights the vibrancy and spirit that is imbued in a natural setting. “It’s definitely trickier to prevent colors from muddling in this approach, but the reward is that of a painted flower vibrating a bit more on the canvas,” says Elyse.
In one series, Elyse focuses on a meadow that is awash with color. Painted with acrylic on wood canvas panel, Elyse explains such paintings are meant to be a snapshot of one small patch of a broader meadow.
“I generally paint them in multiples so the canvases get scattered along a wall and the whole of them is understood in combination with the space between them,” she notes.
As it turns out, natural themes come quite naturally to Elyse, having been brought up surrounded by nature. “Nature has always been a great influence in my life,” she says. “I grew up surfing, found out a few years back I had a lineage in the floral industry reaching back to my great grandfather in Holland.”
Her paintings are a great addition to any feed, especially this spring.
