Elleree

[2021 - present]
a series of collage, mixed media and mixed technique pieces based on the photograph of an unknown woman, taken by Alfred Henderson sometime between 1900 and 1917, let's call her Elleree.

after almost a year of lockdowns, working from home, and ongoing and everchanging covid restrictions, and after a couple of shorter creative projects that had kept me going, i had reached the point where both inspiration and motivation were as hard to come by as a dinner reservation at Monsieur Bleu (closed), a decently sized coffee at Starbucks (not within a one-kilometre radius), sunshine (winter), or a chance to leave the city (not allowed). so, in order to make myself work and thereby keep the last bit of sanity and mental equilibrium left to me, i decided to give myself a creative challenge that would be both easy and difficult at the same time: a simple enough premise that, if need be, will allow me to work without any emotional investment nor the need to come up with my own ideas, but a big enough scope to experiment, learn, and step out of my comfort zone – eventually and/or occasionally. 

Elleree will be my muse for the (covid) year(s) to come. i will create 365 collage or mixed media illustrations using her portrait as a starting point, taking inspiration from the work of artists i admire, or styles i like. this is not a daily challenge. it will take as long as it takes.

if you want to see all Ellerees, please go here