Elise Ansel was born in New York City in 1961. She studied a BA at Rhode Island’s Brown University, where she later returned as a visiting artist and lecturer. An MFA in Visual Art followed at Southern Methodist University in Texas.
Her paintings are an attempt to translate Old Masters into contemporary artistic language, and she has been exhibiting them in the UK and US for more than 35 years. Elise currently lives in Portland, Maine, and is represented by Cadogan Contemporary in London and Miles McEnery Gallery in New York. www.eliseansel.com
TALKING WITH ARTISTS
Flowers in a Glass Vase I springs from Rachel Ruysch’s 1704 painting Flowers in a Glass Vase, which is in the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum (DIA) collection. In 2019, gallerist David Klein saw my work and asked if I would create an exhibition in “conversation” with masterpieces at the DIA. I was inspired by many of the paintings in the collection, but the encounter with two works by female Old Masters (or “Old Mistresses” as they were famously called by Griselda Pollock and Rozsika Parker), Ruysch’s Flowers in a Glass Vase and Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith and her Maidservant, proved transformative. I was energised by the opportunity to align myself with female artists from another time, another place; to draw strength and inspiration from their accomplishments, and to extend what they had begun.
This story is from the March 2021 edition of Artists & Illustrators.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2021 edition of Artists & Illustrators.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration
Atmospheric Perspective
Figure Drawing author Jake Spicer continues his series on creating a sense of space in your drawings by looking at ways to employ this naturally occurring effect
VISUAL Diary
Why not put the kettle on, pick up a pen, and try your hand at keeping a “tea” diary? EMMA LEYFIELD shares advice and tips to get you in good habits in the New Year
THE glazing METHOD
STEPHEN COATES shows how carefully planning the wetness of your layers and applying glazes of colour can allow you to build a soft, atmospheric set of clouds in a landscape painting
Thomas Gainsborough
With a major exhibition, the opening of a centre dedicated to his art, and the return of his Blue Boy , 2022 is shaping up to be the year of Gainsborough, says ADRIAN MOURBY
THE BIG INTERVIEW: Anthony Eyton
As he approaches his hundredth year, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about what it means to be an artist and why there is a newfound urgency to his work