A couple of weeks ago, the listing Realtor for my next door neighbor's house approached me with a novel idea. Since my neighbors had pieces of my work hanging throughout their home, would I consider doing a special exhibit during her next open house and bring more pieces in?

I said yes without hesitation. I thought it would be fun and also help my neighbors. It was also informative.

We had a very good turnout, which made me wonder about something. I saw so many people who already have my work that I began asking them why they would come to a home to see my paintings when they can come to my gallery seven days a week. Many had made a special trip through a lot of traffic to get there.

The answer unanimously was that they wanted to see my work in a home setting with natural lighting rather than gallery track lighting. I had to agree with them that it was better.

Track lighting, particularly LED spotlights which I've invested in for environmental reasons, seem to take away from the three-dimensional quality I endeavor so hard to paint into my originals. Every painting brought in for the show looked so much better with ambient room and window lighting. 

This is part of the reason why we take pieces out on our front porch for people to see in natural light and why we let people try paintings out in their own lighting at home.

I have one room of my gallery where light is almost entirely natural and bright, but it's impossible in another room and a challenge when leaves are on the crepe myrtle trees just outside of the windows of the main showroom.

​I'm going to see what I can do, perhaps add tables, lamps to that room. I'm not sure exactly what yet, but I'll figure something out! Come in and check it out. I'll be working on this project throughout October as I gear up for the holidays. I'd love your opinion!

There are many kinds of lights on the market made and marketed especially for artists, most of them claiming to be the equivalent of daylight.
 
The problem is, even if these lights really did what they say they do, we each see colors differently, so there’s no single light that will work for everyone, whether you're an artist, a knitter, a crafter or just picking out paint colors for your home.
 
I participated in an experiment at a science symposium at George Washington University while in high school. In the experiment, a laser beam was shined through a prism and projected onto a large white screen.
 
A band of colors every hue of the rainbow appeared across the screen, and different people in the audience were asked to go up to the screen and identify the width of each of the colors they saw.
 
Surprisingly, though there were some trends (most people saw narrower bands of blue) everyone without exception saw different amounts of individual colors. The results were as unique as the individuals.
 
Further studies show that people with light colored eyes are more sensitive to light (don’t need as much light to see well) while darker eyes need more light. The people who took part in the seminar who saw very narrow bands of blue? Chances are blue is their favorite color – because they see less of it, scientists conclude. 
 
My perception of colors was in the middle range in that experiment, and my eyes are hazel (not light, not dark), so you might conclude that I have color perception that’s in the middle range.
 
But I cannot see colors well enough to paint accurately under artificial light. Period.
 
I have tried many types of lights. With some lights I’ll use far too much yellow because the light absorbs the appearance of yellow while I'm painting, with some way too much blue, with others too much red.

I personally prefer to see the results I’m getting as I paint!
 
Below is an example of the top rated major brand of artist light out there vs. natural north light on my new, still wet, in-progress oil painting, Crossed Paths.
 
I think (depending on your monitor or mobile device) that you’ll see a wider range of colors in the photo taken with natural light vs. the one taken under artificial light – and more detail. (The natural light photo was taken in the evening when light was waning, so I'll take another in the a.m. and post it here.)
 
When you paint by natural light there is an added bonus: no matter what artificial light the painting is seen in, the colors will remain balanced because they were painted in a light-balanced situation. -- Ellen

This is a question retiring newcomers to this area often ask me. I could give multiple answers, but for me, it all starts with one.
 
My first suggestion – and last – is to learn the basics of drawing and develop a strong foundation in its principles before even considering moving into color.  Pablo Picasso had a strong foundation in representational drawing, and if you study the works for which he was best known, you can see his understanding of perspective, light, shadow, hues and value from his traditional training in all of it.
 
When I teach, basic drawing is where I start.
 
I have painted professionally with watercolor, pastels, pastel pencils, acrylics and oils, the latter of which I’ve stayed with for the last 15 years. (Mouse over images to see the medium used.)  But before I ever worked in color, I mastered the art of drawing. My first job illustrating for publications was doing black and white drawings for a weekly newspaper for 8 years. It was great training.
 
Whether you want to paint realistically, impressionistically, expressionistically, abstractly or all of the above, knowing the basics of light, shadow, hue, value and perspective are key.
 
Here are some examples of drawings and paintings in different mediums that illustrate the importance of having a foundation in drawing. As I went through my paintings and drawings, I think I could have chosen every one for this purpose. There's not one that did not require at least basic drawing skills.

If you'd like to ask me any questions, click the word Comments at the top of this blog and I'll be happy to answer. - Ellen

Thank you to everyone who submitted names in my Name the Painting contest. There were some really good name contenders for my new puppy and crab painting, but there can only be one winner. 

That winner is:

John Armstrong for his name, "Don't Pinch the Pooch!"

I laughed out loud when I read it and the vote was unanimous. Congratulations John!

The original of Don't Pinch the Pooch is available and will be in print in the gallery beginning tomorrow, Saturday, August 26, at 2 p.m.. This painting was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it!

​                                                                                                           -- Ellen

A month ago, a customer who wanted to purchase one of my ocean prints emailed me asking for help. She’d seen a painting on my website that she liked, but unfortunately it couldn’t be made large enough for the space she had in mind.
 
Here’s how we resolved her dilemma with email and a little legwork on my part:

1. I asked her to send me a photo of the wall where she wanted to hang my artwork. (Image 1) and advised her about the effects of different widths. (Image 2)
2. After determining the size needed, I sent her images of my paintings in print that would meet her requirements for subject, color and size.
3. She selected an image and got back to me in a few days.
4. I used Photoshop to remove the mirror over her mantel in her original photo and used the Hang a Painting app linked on this website to put a virtual image of her chosen painting on her virtual "wall." (Image 3)
5. I provided her with framing options and costs and told her how long it would take from decision to delivery. 
6. She decided she wanted her painting reproduced on canvas rather than paper and framed rather than gallery wrapped,
7. I photographed her choice with several frame choices and sent her my recommendation. (Image 4)
8. She accepted my recommendation, ordered the print, it was printed, stretched, hand embellished and was waiting for her when her family arrived at the beach a few weeks later and it's now installed back home in Pennsylvania in reality. (Image 5)

 
If you need help making art decisions for your home or office, please feel free to email me. I’ll be glad to help. – Ellen

This Saturday, Aug. 19, and next Wednesday, Aug. 23, I'll debut the (finished) puppy painting above and present "Creating Happiness by Painting Children and Puppies" from 1 to 4 p.m. both days in my new gallery location in Ocean View.

I've got a "Name This Painting" competition going on, too, which will conclude on the 24th. The winner will receive a print of this humorous painting, so stop in with your suggestions or comment here by clicking Comments above.

Make sure you come to the right place! We moved this spring to a larger location in Ocean View near our old place. Click here for a map.

Although I'm perhaps best known for my paintings of the coastal area, my “Treasure Beaches of the Mid-Atlantic” map and my inspirational series, “The Strength of Woman,” painting children and animals is among my favorite things to do.
 
What you love doing is often what you do best. Your love of your subject comes through in your work. I smile the whole time I’m painting a child or puppy. They make me happy and I think that’s why people respond to these paintings so much.
 
In that vein, I'm continuing a series I started two years ago called “Children by the Sea” and now adding puppies to the mix. The combination is wonderful. The children series is almost to the point now of having enough images to debut a series of greeting cards meant to inspire by showing the joy of looking at life from a childlike perspective.
 
Heads up: I'm still accepting submissions of photos for consideration as models for the series!!!  I have some wonderful shots lined up to paint, but I hope to cover more topics, so parents and grandparents are welcome to show me their photos ~ and don’t eliminate cell pics! Two of my best portraits this year were done from grandparents’ cell phone photographs. Those who submit photos that are accepted have first right of refusal on the originals - and a discounted portrait price for contributing to the series.
 
You're all invited to my two events this week and also to participate in a Name This Painting competition. Light refreshments and wine & cheese will be served.

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Am I a living artist?  So far!

Am I local to coastal Delaware? I've never seen what this has to do with the quality of art, but yes, I've lived in Delaware since 1962. That doesn't make me a "native" though. You have to be born here. My son's a native, so he's my claim to fame on this subject.

Are the images on this website and in the gallery photographs?
No. Although I will look at photographs occasionally when painting, particularly when painting a scene with specific architecture or lay of the land and when doing portraits, every one of my paintings is done "from scratch," a blank canvas or sheet of paper. Please refer to my Paintings in Progress page.

Is the man in the gallery Ellen? No. And yes, my manager does get asked this. If you want to see how high an eyebrow can go, just ask him that.

This post is for those artists among us who face blank white canvases with fear and trembling. You're not alone.

I've earned my living solely through my artwork for more than 25 years, have been painting professionally for more than four decades, have gained a reputation for quality work, heaps of praise, a strong following, a lot of awards and am known fairly widely as a "collectible" artist.

But I still face a blank canvas with trepidation.

I'm basically self taught, but had a wonderful high school art teacher, Irene Silverstein, who taught the basics of all good representational art and I often "hear" her words as I paint. Those principles don't change.

One of my most distinct memories is of her telling my class that the greatest challenge even the best artists have, sometimes throughout their careers, is a facing blank white canvas. Her answer? Cover it, cover it with any color, even white!

Just the act of covering the canvas with even a thin glaze of color makes the Great Blank White Canvas Monster fade away. Once those first brush strokes go down fear turns to joy and the Great Blank White Canvas Monster is defeated. 

It helps me. I hope it helps you, too. - Ellen