Archway Portals - 2025

Gathering Migration- 2020

This series was a slower progression of paintings that with color and repetitive pattern. I used an abstracted approach in this series and drew on the color schemes and patterns from the Re-Constructing series. To insinuate time passing, I added stripes of color and darkened areas that allude to a crossing over of day into night and vice versa. While these go in no particular order, they represented more of the landscape I viewed and collected in my day to day life while living in Gilroy, CA. I would see many migrating bird populations, throughout the year, along the Uvas Creek wildlife preserve trail that was near our home. As this was during the pandemic and also a time where our family was considering moving closer to family, I was connecting to the migration of birds and added a v-shaped form in repeating patterns to represent them in my work.

11. movement

6.5 x 9

watercolor on paper

12. saving daylight

5.5 x 10

watercolor on paper

-SOLD-

30 Daily Paintings : September 2020

September has me feeling like I need some repeatable practices. These tiny worlds are pocket sized and transport you to a new landscape, for a moment or two at least. Small enough to sit on your desktop or on a wall. A magic portal that contains a vast landscape in a precious package.

a collection of tiny 2x3 inch worlds

near night

landed in peace

watching for wishes

Sapphire Linings

view from my window

golden California

Autumn Hills One

Autumn Hills Two

Autumn Hills Three

Dream of You

Optional Frame for 2x3 Tiny Worlds

Alone, Together -2019

Recently, due to the shelter in place orders, I am considering my own internal dialog of nature as a metaphor for the juxtaposition of where we find ourselves both alone and together. Clouds occupy the same sky and a single cloud is both one and many. Also included are galaxies, the night sky and islands, which illustrate the separateness we feel during this great pause but can also be seen through the lens of alone, together. In addition, I wanted these paintings to be small and intimate to reflect the spaces we are confined to during this time. Our homes are both holding us in but another perspective is we are gaining space from self-reflection, each other and the immediate world around us allowing a stronger connection to a larger picture of unity.
xo - Elissa

Re-Constructing Landscapes
2017

My 30 foot landscape documenting my personal memories of landscape begins with my first attachment to the land, a butte on my grandparents ranch in western South Dakota. Traveling through the landscapes that embedded themselves in my personal landscape along the way in my life’s journey thus far and ending with my (then) current home in California where I connected with the ocean-scapes in Big Sur during our first December in CA. The paintings also travel through the sunrise, daytime, a little storm and ending with sunset and night. Each painting measures 36 x 48 inches created using watercolor and collage on wood panel.

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