The complete Olsen Series

Click here to view the complete Olsen Series
I am very excited that more are in the works.  I hope you enjoy these, acrylic on canvas. 7ft by 6 ft and 6 ft by 4 ft.

New Projects in the Works

How time flies!  I have couple of new projects in the works thanks to Olsen Portrait Design!  I was provided the resources and time to create paintings to be used as backdrops for photography subjects.  The four the I originally created were extremely successful (photos of them to come) and I have been given permission to create another EIGHT!  Success-yes!  You may catch a few of the backgrounds if you visit www.olsenphoto.com.

Ode To: New York

New York.  What else can I say.  I wanted to portray the city without getting into the mellow drama and local casting one usually sees in anything New York related.  I still had to cover some basics just to give the right character in a glance.  This is what I came up with.
I am a native Texan and I have only been to New York once.  Texas is known for being big--everything is bigger in Texas.  Bigger but not taller!  The sheer height and closeness of these buildings were enough to make me claustrophobic and awestruck in one fell swoop. Along with the height, comes the fire escapes which are visually mesmerizing.  We don't have anything that goes underground here.  No basements and certainly no subways. These were just a few items that I wanted featured.  I hope I did it justice.  Let me know what you think!

Josie's Baby

Josie's Baby - 22 in X 24 in oil painting.

 Josie is a grandmother whose grandbaby passed away just before her 2nd birthday after struggling from a severe case of muscular dystrophy. Josie entrusted this picture to me and asked only that I make a picture of her baby in May of 2009. I understood the importance and the sacredness of the image...when you look at the picture of her baby's face, so much wisdom and peace is shown despite the tube and discomfort. About one month later, I left painting at her place of work. I was not present when she saw it, but was told by Josie and her coworkers how much the painting touched their hearts. They were all in tears. I am very fortunate the painting was well received and that she felt I did her grandbaby justice. Josie's baby was truly an angel on earth.

Quick Nap- Pencil Drawing 5 in X 5 in.

 This drawing was inspired by my little restroom catnaps. It reminds me of that early morning, can't wake up so I'll sit on the toilet to snooze. As you may notice, the lucky model does numerous poses for me and has been the subject of many of my works.

Missing Art Work! Have You Seen This Woman?

This ceramic sculpture, titled Gaia or Mother Nature is currently missing. I made this piece in response to my growing awareness about our (human beings) abuse to Mother Earth. This sculpture was done as an assignment for my Ceramics Sculpture class during my last full semester at Incarnate Word. I was asked by the instructor to leave the work at the school so that it may be showcased in a possible exhibition in the fall. I left the sculpture and my contact information with the instructor hoping to hear some news about it being shown. I had every confidence the sculpture would be safe, having attended the school for years and nothing ever being taken during my time studying there. There were artworks that had been there for years.  I left the piece with confidence in the school's track record, coupled with the fact that the piece must have weighed over 30 lbs and was approximately 18 in X 22 in X 12 in. I left it there for a whole two semesters. Never hearing anything from the instructor, I went back to retrieve it and it was gone! I have since been checking back to see if it may have been found, but have had no luck thus far. The staff has changed and no one seems to know what has happened to it. I have had a renewed sense of urgency to find it, since I now have a use for it.  I plan to donate it, once it is found, to a cause that raises people's consciousness about helping Mother Earth. This representation of Gaia shows that she is abundant with resources and yet tired and weary from our abuse. Please help me find this beautiful piece so that she may help us all! If you have information regarding her where-abouts, please contact me at admin@odetoelisette.com. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Its COMPLETE!

My latest and greatest painting is finished! It's Ode to: New York! I hope any and all New Yorkers can take one look at it and feel the city. I've had some test runs, and so far anyone that I've shown that has ever visited New York or lived there has identified with the painting.

I'm excited to say that it has already been purchased and I will be sad to see it go, but that's what my pics are for...and I REALLY could use the money. Starving artist...that's me. I'd stay starving and keep all my artwork if I could, but I do have a family to feed.

Sorry about the watermark, but the painting is so complex, there really was no good place to put it, so smack in the middle over everything it went!

Feel free to post comments and tell me what you think...

Almost Done - Ode To Elisette

I am very excited, I have a new piece close to completion! The request was for "a painting about New York."  Having only visited New York once for a few hours in the middle of the night, I only experienced the trash laying about the foul smelling streets waiting for pick up, the brilliant lights of time square, and the incessant hocking of car horns as we waited in traffic. Keep in mind this was about five years ago, the twin towers had already been demolished and a big gaping hole with miscellaneous rubble was left in Ground Zero.

Being an artist, I had always dreamed of going to New York to experience life and stretch my artistic wings to embrace the grand opportunities New York would have to offer. After my brief experience, I was not impressed.

Everybody I've ever talked to that has actually lived there or visited for more than a day, has absolutely loved it. So I decided to scratch all my pre-conceived notions about the city when I started this piece and tried grasp at what a New Yorker might miss while living in Texas. There are so many stimulating visuals, but for a Texan, the height of the city is overwhelming. Everything here is spread out with lots of space. Downtown San Antonio has tall hotels and the Tower, but they pale in comparison to the height of the Empire State Building! Things might be bigger in Texas, but they sure seem much taller and skinnier in New York. I tried to stay away from the obvious landmarks, but a painting about New York couldn't be about New York without them...believe me, I tried!

So within the next few posts I'll try and update the response of the person receiving the painting along with the picture. I hope I got it right. I did do a test run on a former New Yorker who lives in Dallas, and they seemed impressed, but they're family and family always goes easy on you...unless it's your mother and she JUST wants you to paint something pretty! Love you Mom :)

Cohiba-Woodblock Print16 in X 24 in.
Cohiba is a type of Cuban Cigar. This portrait was made to capture the charming character of the subject, the flavor of the island and sofistication associated to cigar connoisseurs. This artwork was created in 2008 as part of my coursework towards my bachelor's degree.