Deep Colours and Wild Brushstrokes: Painting by Ella Sandow
Fire in the Desert, oil on canvas
These deep colours and wild brushstrokes are the work of Ella Sandow, our featured artist for today. Ella finds much of her inspiration in nature, with many of her paintings focusing specifically on flowers and plants.
Deviant Nature gallery on Ella's website
I find Ella’s use of black backgrounds interesting – it isn’t a tone I’d normally associate with floral paintings, however it does seem to work in the artist’s favour, offering an extra bit of drama and intrigue to what might have been a simple plant portrait. It is easy to see the artist’s love of contrast, between her flat, dark backgrounds and bright, loosely painted flowers. Ella’s series of works, “Deviant Nature” portrays these same subjects with a “deviant” edge, lighting them in reds and oranges, like the plants are burning, or made of fire themselves. While the contrast is less obvious, the viewer is pulled in by the depth of the colour. I find it hard to look away from these works!
