painting
e:
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w: elliotengley.com
p: 780.757.4339
How did you get into the industry?
I’ve always been an artist. I worked as a graphic designer for 10 years and decided to make a career change into health care in 2005. Once I fully realized how uncreative my new chosen field was I started to focus on painting.
Did anyone inspire you or do you have a mentor?
At the moment I seem to be into Alex Ross’ and Ron English’s artwork. I find inspiration in all sorts of things: photographs, music, paintings, films and nature. I don’t really interact with many artists in person (but) I buy certain art magazines to see what other people are doing.
What do you feel makes you stand out from the rest?
Besides my more realistic pieces, I haven’t really seen anyone doing landscapes like mine. I think it’s interesting to manipulate colours and patterns to play with the mind and provide a broader visual experience, than simply representing a landscape.
What have been your challenges, if any?
Improving my technique and pushing my creative abilities. Finding buyers for my art can be challenging at times. Another challenge is finding good places to display my work where it won’t get damaged.
What’s new or cutting edge in your opinion?
I went to the Yves Laroche gallery in Montreal last summer and they display a lot of really fresh, cutting edge stuff. I was introduced to Ron English’s and Cathie Bleck’s work there. Cathie Bleck does these really ornate mixed media pieces and the first time I saw one I was blown away…so much depth and texture. I’ve checked out her website and it just doesn’t do her work justice.
Anything else you would like to share?
I think Edmonton and Alberta in general are pretty cool places and I’m trying to represent them in a more unique way than I’ve seen it done. People have commented that some of my cityscapes look like New York or Vancouver or somewhere other than Edmonton. It’s kind of neat to watch people stand and look at a painting after I tell them it’s of Edmonton (or wherever else) and to see them figure out what all of the objects are and where the view is from.