Submitted by Lavendera Massage
Lavendera Massage will feature the paintings of Jennifer Elise. Meet the artist from 7-9 p.m., Friday, July 20 at 20285 Spring St.
Elise moved to Friday Harbor seven years ago after living in Nevada, Texas and Arkansas. Her passion for art is rooted in an understanding of the beauty in people and their stories.
“A portrait is a biography of the person captured in one moment,” said Elise. “Every line, brush stroke, item of clothing or object included in the work has a meaning in the individual’s story.”
Becoming a professional artist was an unexpected journey for Elise. She started with a degree in accounting; then pursued a career as an internal auditor for a bank; then became a “bored housewife” buying a set of paints and reading as much about art and its beautifully intricate history. Soon neighbors were asking her to paint portraits for them. Some even suggested she put them up for auction, so she followed. Prices for her artwork were set per year by auction value. Portraits at that time were life-sized, black and white, charcoal and graphite. Elise was active with many charities and museums. This included doing a portrait for Oscar De La Hoya and his inner-city foundation and a commissioned portrait for Anthony Zuiker, the creator and producer of “CSI.”
In addition to her work as a commissioned portrait artist, Elise has worked as an art instructor teaching at Faith Lutheran School in Summerlin, Las Vegas, as well as through private art instruction and teaching seminars. After moving to Friday Harbor, Elise has taken a break from the pressure of commission portraits and has been enjoying creating work that she is inspired to do, rather than told to do.
Most of Elise’s work is owned by her clients in other parts of the country and is in private homes. In this show, attendees will see a few portraits of individuals in Elise’s life, along with new artwork of people from a creative side of Elise’s work. These new creative portraits include a work called “Athena” and a few based on silent film actresses.
