Starting Again from a Hard Year

It was a dark and stormy night. … It was the best of times. … It was love at first sight. … whew. … Hard to get started again. Picking up the pieces of art work from where we left off many months ago, and knowing that some things will be forever changed keep us going. We still look for beauty and goodness all around us and hope to nurture that goodness in us all. 

Tranquility 20x24

We still have art shows and moments of inspiration that keep the new paintings coming. A few paintings have reflected the difficult times we all have experienced but for the most part we are able to start again in the paintings to come. We are very happy to be part of an elegant art show for the next few weeks at one of our most beautiful venues, Michigan’s Shiawassee Art Center. Over a dozen of my paintings are on display and online and in the gallery. The online experience is quite easy to use and fun too. 

Follow the link for a virtual tour: https://shiawasseearts.org/current-show/. Five artists of various genres in the greater Lansing area are presenting at Shiawassee Art Center from March 16 - April 25. Scroll down the fine art works of two or three other artists to see the Joel F. Ellis contribution to the show. Tap on a piece of interest to enlarge and view details of the work. 

Goldenrod Summer 24x30

Wait, wait there’s more – Sunday March 21 is an Open House for both in person or the virtual show from 12 to 4pm. There is a 20% discount for one piece of art purchased during the open house hours. 

AND To watch a brief video interview of Meet the Artist Joel Ellis click the following link: https://youtu.be/HYQtNGh4AAA 

This has been a very busy recovery time from the hard last year. We would like to thank Jennifer Ross, staff and volunteers at Shiawassee Art Center for a great job organizing the many parts of this exhibit. Thank you also Honorable & Mrs. Gerald Lostracco for their sponsorship. Finally, much thanks to my colleagues and their inspiring art: 

Autumn Embrace 16x20

Jane Reiter, Rhonda Sherwin, Sheryl Stephens, Pamela Wilburn. 

I hope you enjoy the art as much as I have enjoyed producing it. Joel

Creative Energy Begins in the Young

       We had another art experience courtesy of children at play. They were just doing what pleased them and the results were mind boggling. We, the grandparents, sit and watch in wonder at the shear flow of creative energy being generated after a long day of school. 

       The third grader is on the computer making a fast car to race. Superchargers and racing tires rated for high speed in place and off he goes learning about G forces. The pre-k artist is drawing a prehistoric shark. He gets scissors working to cut out his creation that Picasso would have been proud to see.

       Watching these young children grow and develop is my open door to the complex world of the creative process. Both have the drive to express the mysterious energy that flows in all of us. Each child releases the desire to make something in different ways. After their personal experience there is the moment of sharing and, through our admiration, the sense of fulfillment of their creative journey.

     

Nautilus, 24x24
currently at Riverwalk Theatre 

 This early spring has been a time for me to share my creative output and it really has been a trip of sharing. The two main shows went up with the usual details covered – one at Shiawassee Art Center (SAC) and the other still exhibiting until May 30 at Riverwalk Theatre Lobby, an elegantly design lighted to view a couple of dozen wall art pieces. We had a chance to meet the fine folks that put art shows together and work with them and experience their creative challenges. We also, gratefully, had sales of strong works and one award at the SAC membership show – a large abstract titled Rise Up.

Rise Up winner of Best Abstract at SAC Membership show, May 2017

       We all have the buildup of creative energy. Once we put the energy to work, we are compelled to share the sense of fulfillment that comes with the positive responses we receive.

Thank you to all who support the arts. Here’s to a creative summer.

Joel, www.joelellisart.com , www.joelellisart.com

Local mid-Michigan people will want to check out the Mid-Michigan Art Guild 12x12 Show. Some fine small sized art at Framer's Edge, Haslett, Michigan.

The beautiful Shiawassee Art Center, Owosso, Michigan, 206 Curwood Castle Dr. now celebrating 45 years! Open new hours Monday-Friday 12-5, Saturday and Sunday 12-4, Free admission.

Quest 40x30
currently exhibited at Riverwalk Theatre

Riverwalk Theatre http://riverwalktheatre.com, 228 Museum Drive, Lansing Michigan, the lobby is designed especially as an art gallery, now exhibiting 24 Joel Ellis favorites.

Mysterious Moment of Inspiration

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”  Auguste Rodin 

       

       There is a mysterious moment when the artist stands in front of the blank canvas waiting for the inner energy to bubble forth. When a viewer stops to look at my work and asks what inspired me I want to give them the long answer. I have to admit this has happened and the viewer’s eyes have been known to glaze over out of boredom. So just how do we present “the story” that fueled the painting that stopped the passing viewer?

       For some artists who are painting in a theme or a series, the energy is already flowing and easy to tap into. Even with the familiar experience, however, there can be that moment of contemplation, “how do I get this painting going?”

       Please notice how long I have taken to get to the question, “what inspired me…” You get the point. There is for me and other artists no easy answer. So let me try again - ahem. Let’s see now. There is the cliché stuff like sunsets, really, and sand dunes and cloud formations and, and….

       Then there are the times when that special inner energy is easily tapped and sometimes it is agonizing. Staring at a blank canvas is an ancient experience, I think, like moments when multiple surprises come together, almost as if spirits are taking advantage of the pause. Those are very euphoric and blessed moments, we artists live for that Adrenalin rush. When it doesn’t work, when calling on inspirational keys doesn’t click, it is torture filled with self-questioning.

we are stardust expression in acrylic 36x36
exhibited at Shiawassee Art Center March 14 - April 23, 2017

       

       Some of the inspirational keys come from exploring a painting technique like the wide swaths of paint in we are stardust.

       Nautilus (below) was inspired by a conch shell that has been sitting on a shelf in our home. Some inspiration comes from an interplay of materials in hand - thin or thick or fluid mixes in action. Sometimes the inspiration hits the right beat with the music playing and we find the brush almost taps by itself. 

       It is all so interesting – the business of being inspired and the outcome of creating.

NAUTILUS 24x24 diamond acrylic
to be exhibited at Riverwalk Theatre, Lansing Michigan April 5 to May 30

Large conch shell on the shelf

What is coming up.

        This has been a busy Spring for showing my art – two paintings at the MEA building just off of Saginaw, East Lansing for the 53^rd exhibit of Michigan educators art; groupings of some of my favorite paintings in two galleries of the Shiawassee Art Center Owosso, Michigan; and coming up in April a series of Joel Ellis Art in the beautiful lobby of the Riverwalk Theater off Museum Drive near Impressions5 science museum.

        Other news – my grandson, Tyler Smith, a graduating senior from Grand Valley State University, has three drawings selected for the Michigan Collegiate Art Exhibition currently exhibiting at Lansing Art Gallery, downtown Lansing, reception and awards March 24 6-8 p.m.

         I am honored that the venues are available to artists in mid-Michigan and that I am included. Think original art for home and office.

There is beauty all around us, enjoy.

Joel   www.joelellisart.com

DIA, FIA, KIA, and SAC Art in Michigan, Check It Out!

Summer is finally here with all the ballgames and family gatherings. Travel to and from these fun times will be a blessing and a lots of fun. In summer, we move around the state a great deal. Along with the family and the drop off and pickup of art entries, we accumulate a whole lot of miles on the road. There is also the bonus of new sights to explore.

Michigan is a very diverse and beautiful state that never fails to amaze the serendipity explorer. As we travel this northern U S state we are amazed by the bountiful natural water reservoir, the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan, I think, is the jewel in the Great Lakes crown. With its broad sand beaches and dense emerald forests and inland lakes that give the nature lover a superb blend of natural beauty.

If your fair is the urban life don’t miss the many charming small towns. The small cafes and bakeries with their friendly locals are as pleasant as any town in Europe. Check out Northport, Michigan - great cinnamon rolls! 

If your travels take you on the many miles of expressways don’t forget to pull off at some world class art venues and fine art galleries throughout Michigan. Detroit with it diverse ethnic population can be a lot of fun to explore. Don’t forget the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA), one of the best in the world. Be sure to stop and marvel at the grand historic and masterful Diego Rivera mural. There are many art communities that are a must see for a Michigan art tour.

Flint Institute of Art (FIA)  is as classic as any urban art venue in the country, with an exceptional permanent collection as well as classy travelling shows. Kalamazoo Institute of Art (KIA) rests in a very artistic region. The exhibits are world class. That was where we first became aware of Tunis Ponson’s work which is now under the curatorial protection of Roy Saper of Saper Gallery in East Lansing. Yes, right here in this artsy little town with big visions for art.  

A great example of smaller community superb art exhibits is Shiawassee Art Center (SAC) in Owosso where art thrives through an enthusiastic collaboration between staff, volunteers, friends of, and the community businesses and individuals. Many communities throughout Michigan have this same enthusiasm for the importance of art in the health of the community. Check them out as you travel.

Saugatuck-Douglas has some of the best art venues in the state, and a little further up the west coast of Michigan you can find other fun art communities: Traverse City where original art abounds, Manistee, and Charlevoix with contemporary galleries and old world classical paintings. These are just a few.

ArtPrize (in September), in Grand Rapids, has grown into international importance with its size and diverse venues throughout the city. One of the main attractions for huge sculptural art and smaller works in the main building gallery is at beautiful Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. That is where we became reacquainted with the excellent kenetic sculptor, George Rickey.

I’ll keep you posted on the various venues and paintings we deliver, and here’s hoping we do a lot of traveling this new art season.

Happy art travels, Joel