Lisa Elley

A Window to Wine Country, Oil Painting

2022

Artist Comments
Inspired by the lush vineyards of France in the fall, artist Lisa Elley paints an impression of the scene. Light caresses the quaint village during the breathtaking summer. The vineyard flourishes in the foreground, creating a dramatic and colorful effect. She achieves a rich, buttery texture through thick impasto application.

About the Artist
Working almost exclusively with a palette knife, Lisa Elley maneuvers her artistic blade with an uncanny fluidity. Why paint only with the knife? She says, "when I paint with a brush, which I do occasionally, I tend to focus on the detail. With a palette knife I can't focus on the detail too much, so my paintings are looser, and more gestural, with bigger sweeps and strokes." This technique is called wet-on-wet. And it seems to be quite popular, as she has been bestowed the title "Knife Queen" by her facebook fans. Fun fact: Lisa's high school art teacher told her to study harder at math, as a career in art was "impossible."

Words that describe this painting: fall, autumn, season, France, Provence, village, vineyard, grapevines, winery, Europe, travel, buildings, architecture, farm, oilpaint, texture, palette knife, impressionism, landscape, impressionism, landscape, travel, oil painting, green

Autumn in Provence...

Artist Comments
A small coastal farmhouse tucked into a spring landscape, nasturtiums in the foreground give way to old eucalyptus and Cypress trees in the distance. Inspired from a scene in northern California that Kip sketched in one of his notebooks nearly 25 years ago. Part of his signature series of impressionist landscapes. He captures forest scenes, marshes and prairies throughout the year, playing up the changing color palette of the seasons and the specific lighting conditions. He focuses less on specific places than the overall feeling of the scene.

About the Artist
Kip Decker boasts more than 40 years of experience with acrylic paint. His images come from places he has lived - everywhere from Arizona to Oregon to Colorado. He finds inspiration in nature and admires the work of Post Impressionist artists. He likes to think of his artwork as "lyrical expressionism." Kip currently lives across the street from a small lake where he enjoys watching the birds.

Words that describe this painting: barn, California, flowers, field, pasture, trees, impressionism, landscape, representational, acrylic painting, blue

Near Half Moon Bay...