Every person in these pictures has a story. It is up to the viewer to draw that story out from their own standpoint and create the world into which they are looking.
This series of painting are based around the centre of Settle. I have always been an admirer of Patrick Caulfield’s precise drawings all outlined in black some coloured but others not. In addition, there is an influence in my work of the Cumbrian artist Percy Shaw. I like the way his landscapes, and particularly buildings, are represented but with a minimum of detail. These images of mine have been inspired by those artists. However, I have put my own ideas in here also. The static buildings show colour as an positive statement about the location. The figures, however, are moving, and have an ephemeral appearance. These are the images of the people who may have passed by the location either now or in the future.
Giclée prints of these images can be ordered on-line . They will be in a limited edition of 10. They will be £120 each. The prints will be A3 size which is smaller than the originals which are approximately 820mm x 520mm
These images will be available for sale at the North Yorkshire Open Studios weekends in June unless they are are sold beforehand on line. They are acrylic on canvas, framed. £875 each.
Below Elaine has many other paintings in her portfolio. These include a set of poster-style Acrylic paintings of The Three Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales. These are all produced in the style of 1950’s posters. They are large pieces of work measuring about 78cms x 105cms unframed. These originals as seen below, are £1400 each. (£4000 for the set of three) .They have been on permanent exhibition for a number of years and are locally very well-known. Giclée prints can be made to order at A3, A2 or A1 starting at £150 each.
The style of these paintings is a very appealing, old-fashioned, children’s story-book approach to illustration, which Elaine enjoys creating. There are also hints of the style used in travel posters during the thirties, forties and fifties. The integral captions below the pictures have been changed several times. These apply to the hotel or restaurant in which they were being exhibited.
Elaine has a variety of paintings depicting local scenery as well as the town of Settle. The set of four below are interpretations of views around the Three Peaks area. Their simplicity of both line and colour lends a sense of peace and space to the images. Only the essential ingredients of the place are illustrated yet the scenes are recognisable to those who know them. The complexities of life and its interactions have been swept away to the bare bones . Blots on the landscape, like problems in the mind have been erased. Only the beauty of the natural landscape remains.
Elaine has now created a hybrid version of the above paintings and fused the idea of the simple North Yorkshire landscape with some of the figures who might people it. Again the figures are not recognisable by their faces but by there actions and where they are placed in the scenes. Again each figure has a story to tell. Unfettered by detail, the viewer is able to consider the essence of life in these settings around the Three Peaks. Elaine has once more captured the spirit of the Dales, the curves and colour of the landscape while introducing an element of human life to create a whole set of stories.
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