Ellen Polyard Art

Last year I lost my little grand dog, Bella.  I decided to honor her memory with a painting that could be forever cherished. I worked on this for a few months as a surprise Mother's Day gift for my daughter. I think she loved it! We miss you Bella!

 What's going on in the studio these days?  "Baby" is a work in progress that I'm doing for a friend in Montana.  She recently lost this horse and asked if I would paint him. I brought is eyes to life last week so he's getting close to being finished. I had planned to do the tree branches one way and then last week I decided to do a rub out method so I put in light background.  Now that that layer is completely dry my plan is to go in and add the dark colors and do the "rub out".  I'll post pictures soon if it works out as planned.  Keep your fingers crossed.

 I got the digital images back for two pieces I'm submitting to an art exhibition near Denver. "Yvnnash" is the Choctaw word for bison.  Reminds me of bison wallowing in the dirt and mud during the rutting season. "Tatanka" is the Lakota word for bison.  This piece was inspired by a bison skull I came across while working in Yellowstone National Park.  After visiting the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe I was inspired to paint the bison skull. I'm more than a little obsessed with the American bison. I'll know by March 13th if either piece is accepted.  Please keep your  fingers crossed.

Now that the underpainting is finished and dry it's time to start laying in some color. I have to admit that I like the underpainting. The monochromatic sepia style is kind of cool. First, I want you to take a good look at the tree stump because that's where I'm going to start.  What color do you think is the base for the parts that still have bark?  It might help to squint your eyes to see the color. I see varying shades of purple and lavender so that's what I'm going with. At this point you might think I've lost my mind.  Don't worry.  After this initial layer dries in a few days I'll cover it with a darker color and use a tool to expose the lighter shades and give the bark some texture.  And finally I'll add the green moss. This is a technique I used on my "Fawn Pass" painting for the grasses and reeds alongside the river.  If it works it will be stunning, if not, it will be painted over.   Just another experiment in the life of an artis...

I started a new piece today that will eventually be named Enchanted Forest.  I thought someone out there might be interested in how I start a painting. The first step is to choose a subject.  I was in Germany a few months ago and took a walk through a forest near my daughter's house in Bavaria in search of a geocache.  We found it and I thought this photo was magical.  I love the forests in the U.S., but there's something extra special about the forests in Europe.  I completely understand why Disney uses them in their animated films. Once I select the photo I'll use for my reference, I like to get it enlarged to closely match the size of the canvas I plan to use.  The next step is to draw a grid on the photo to help me transfer the image to my canvas. The first step is to prime my canvas with a very thin layer of raw umber oil paint.  I do this because a white canvas will just suck in the paint.  The primer helps with that issue.  I use linen...

Welcome to Ellen Polyard Art!  Let me take a moment to introduce myself. I started life in Arizona the daughter of a U.S. Forest Ranger and a stay at home mom.  My dad had many assignments over the years that kept us in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.  My mother was a lifelong learner taking classes wherever my dad was stationed.  I graduated from High School in Albuquerque where I met the love of my life.  He was in the military and together with our three children we traveled the world moving ten times in 26 years. During this time I took classes in mostly computer science and received a degree in Computer Science while stationed in Texas and twenty years later I completed a second degree in Information Technology Management.  I spent my career in the IT field.  After a scary health situation I decided to leave that life and the big bucks behind to follow a lifelong dream of working in Yellowstone National Park.  I worked as a seasonal ranger the...