I create large abstracts, worked flat. I start with acrylic paint and mediums in different areas and manipulate the canvas until I find what works. The beginning is almost arbitrary, but what emerges is usually surprising. The process is a managed serendipity of what happens with the paint and mediums and what I control. I try to keep the viewer simultaneously engaged by the complexities of the work and soothed by the empty spaces in between.
Elyse Martin (b.1951 Chicago, Illinois) attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and earned a BFA in painting from Washington University in St. Louis. Her regional and national award winning work is featured in private collections, corporate offices and residential building lobbies. Inspired by weekly visits to the Art Institute, Elyse’s drive to create began early in childhood when she filled countless sketchbooks and canvasses.
Martin taught art in Chicago’s inner city where she inspired students and parents to transform blank space into public art. As a consultant for Crayola, Martin developed lesson plans used by student artists across the country. Elyse Martin’s current work uses acrylics and a variety of mediums to create abstract, high color, complex images. Her most recent solo exhibitions were at ARC Gallery and Nych Gallery.
