Ellen Polyard Art

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...