Artist: Elisa Jenson
Title: Early Morning, Port Clyde
Size: 20" x 24"
Medium: Oil on Linen

It was difficult to pick just one of Elisa's paintings to feature- I adore all her paintings - you can see more of them here.

Laura Vahlberg: How did you get started being an artist?

Elisa Jenson: I was an art history major at Smith, and took a painting class with Stanley Lewis which made me realize that I saw art more as an artist and not as an art historian. I never stopped painting after that moment, my life direction changed.

LV: What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?

EJ: With the advent of the pandemic I began to work less in my studio in industrial Brooklyn, and more and more in a small home studio. As an artist, this shift led to a greater focus on my daily encounters in my home, including the view out the window, the shifts in light that and attend the change of seasons, and the full pallet of domestic experience.The shift also allows me to integrate my painting into my daily life more fluidly. I take breaks from painting to read, draw or play my flute. Looking at the work has become a more important part of my process. I work on more pieces at a time, giving them time to rest (and dry) before reworking. This experience has confirmed my long-term belief that art, at it’s best, is part of life, rather than a separate experience.

LV: How do you know when a painting is complete? Do you have certain goals in mind for a completed picture?

EJ: The work is always in charge, and by way of energy, color and shape relationships, and the tension between balance and imbalance the work tells me when it is done. Looking is everything.