Ellen Brook

I have long felt a kinship with textiles, clothes, color and design. Perhaps it's why I resonate so strongly with silk as a medium for painting. There is an organic quality to the process since silk is so absorbent and the dye moves rapidly. I work quickly, spontaneously and intuitively. I typically forgo the conventional way of delineating shapes, aiming more for beautiful and capricious effects than holding tightly to form. 

My hope is to unleash an organic beauty --- the imperfectly perfect beauty of the wabi-sabi sort. I feel most satisfied when my paintings evoke a sense of peace and warmth. I also aim to express whimsy and magic – a moment apart from our ordinary lives. The way silk conveys color, luminosity and movement adds to that communication. 

Silk doesn't have to be left to the walls. My 'floaters' can brighten up a corner, artfully separate rooms or billow across a ceiling to soften and anchor the entire space. The change to the emotional and design-scape can be dramatic. 

Ellen Brook is a San Francisco Bay Area artist who specializes in painting contemporary abstracts on silk, which are in residences, private collections, commercial lobbies, and organizations promoting well-being. 
 

Exhibitions:

2009
“Momentum," Silicon Valley Artists Group Show, San Jose, Ca. (Feb)
Berenice Salons, San Francisco, Ca. (Feb) 

2008
Companion Art Show to Sephardic Music Experience Concert, Berkeley, Ca. (Dec-Jan)
Artist Showcase, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, Ca. (Nov) (apparel and paintings)
Artist Salon – featured artist – Group41 Architecture, San Francisco, Ca. (Sept)
CGS Services (group) San Mateo, Ca. (Summer) 
Hillsborough Designer Showcase Home – Featured Artist (May 16)
Avalon Art and Yoga, (solo) Palo Alto Ca. (Summer)
Art Liaisons Artists Studio, Burlingame Ca. (group) 

2007
Celebration of Craftswomen, SF, Ca. (Nov 24-25)
Juma Gallery (solo), Cleveland, Oh. (Oct)
Gallery 2611, Redwood City, Ca. (April – July)
Marin Art Festival (juried), San Rafael, Ca.
“Eastern Winds & Cherry Blossoms," Aurora Gallery, Petaluma Ca. (group) (Spring)
“Abstractions, Color & Texture," Aurora Gallery, Petaluma Ca. (group) (Feb)
“East –West Connection," All Saints Church, Palo Alto, Ca. (solo) (Feb)
 

Tags:

Abstract, textile, landscape, painting, symbolic, watercolor.