Artist's Statement:

Why do I paint? Because I want to point something out. I want to reach over and say “Hey, look at that! Do you see how it …,   do you see where the …,   isn’t that great the way it …?” But there are no words to say it! And the moment goes by so fast. So I try and make a picture of it. The most amazing thing about painting is that sometimes it actually works! It’s also fun to watch people look at my pictures and see things in them that I didn’t even consciously put there.

My paintings seem to fall into three groups: still life, animals, and landscapes. After working in oils, watercolors, and acrylics, I tried pastels several years ago and now work almost exclusively with them. The medium is a challenge to master, which is interesting, but the real motivation for me is the tactical sensation of working with my fingers with the beautiful and immediate color. Occasionally I use a blending tool of some kind, but usually my tools are just my fingers holding the piece of pastel, and my eyes trying to see the exact reality. The process itself is as wonderful as the thrill of the original visual sensation.

March 2006, Las Cruces Arts Association 44th Annual Membership show, Honorable Mention

January 2006, Las Cruces Arts Association theme show, "Out of the Box"

2005-2006, Las Cruces Arts Association monthly shows, Las Cruces, New Mexico

November 2003, Art in the Woods, North Kitsap Studio Tour, Kingston, WA

July 2003, North Kitsap Arts & Crafts, Juried Exhibition, Port Gamble, WA 

June 2003, Edmonds Art Festival, Juried Exhibition, Edmonds, WA

November 2002, Art in the Woods, North Kitsap Studio Tour, Kingston, WA

September 2002 Sequim Arts Annual Juried Exhibition, Sequim, WA

July-August 2002, Art at the Port, Juried Exhibition, Anacortes, WA

July 2002, North Kitsap Arts & Crafts, Juried Exhibition, Port Gamble, WA 

June 2002, Edmonds Art Festival, Juried Exhibition, Edmonds, WA

May-June 2002, Corvallis Arts Center (Oregon), Juried Exhibition

June 2002, Lexington Art League (Kentucky), Juried Exhibition

Published my gallery web page in 2001: ellenegan.com

The Frame Shop Coffee House, Kingston, WA, Sept.-Nov. 2001 (pastels)

Lakeland Painters Annual Juried Show, Grand Haven, Michigan, April, 1978 (water media)

Fellow Creatures, on-going series of animal paintings in pastel, 1998-2005

Everyday Light, on-going series of pastel still-life paintings, 1998-2005

The Local Landscape, on-going series of pastel landscapes, 1998-2005

Black and White, series of drawings and paintings inspired by Harvey Gordon class, 1977

Floral Bits, set of botanical vignettes in watercolor commissioned by collector, 1971

The Michigan Landscape, large watercolors of scenery and old buildings, 1970-1979

• Pastels: intensively self taught by reading, watching demos, and practicing!

• Everett Community College, Everett, WA 1988-89, Desktop Publishing & Design

• Oil Painting, summer-long workshop in still life, Everett Parks Department, 1986

• Portrait Painting, oil painting life class at Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979

• Muskegon Community College, Muskegon, Michigan, 1978, Design (drawing); Printing Layout

• Glen Oaks Community College, Centreville, Michigan, 1976, Drawing: Taught by Harvey Gordon, who was published in The Artist's Magazine, Dec. 1990

• Studied acrylic painting under Margi Stevens, Three Rivers, Michigan, 1974-1977

• Drawing and watermedia, adult education classes, Grand Haven, Michigan, 1970

Glen Oaks Community College Art Annual, 1976, two drawings

Mukilteo, WA Friends of the Library, 1984, drawings for brochure and cards

Hewlett Packard marketing brochure, 1988, computer drawn illustration

Graphic Design: newspaper advertising, brochures, marketing materials, 1989-1996

Owned the Kingston Community News (monthly newspaper), and did all the graphic design, page layout, and advertising design, 1996-2000