CV
Artist Statement
My first teacher and mentor, Florence Quater, a noted artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, taught me that painting is not about making pretty pictures. She instructed me to observe and interpret changing daylight and nighttime shadows to create a strong emotional message. It is my passion, desire, and duty to paint landscapes and architecture around me.
Years later, I studied under master artist David P. Curtis, whose muse was Ives Gammell. I painted every Saturday in Essex, MA at the Cox Reservation Greenspace all day for almost five years. At the end of the day David would give a valuable critique.
Often, I wondered where I was going to find fresh subject matter. Upon standing still for awhile and quietly observing my surroundings, I saw with fresh eyes, things I had not noticed before. It was one of the most valuable lessons I learned about painting—the importance of observation.There's no substitute for being in the field to capture the essence of light at that moment, however, alternatively, studio painting allows me to benefit from memories, dreams, and imagination. Ultimately, my desire is to join my skills of plein air and studio painting together.
My art is about telling a story, to lead you down a path through and around the painting; there is a sense of deja vu, a memory that waits to be revealed. It is about capturing a mood, an emotion, or a slice of time. I enjoy painting architecture without the addition of vehicles or humans. I believe the buildings reflect the souls who lived here. The windows appear like eyes looking out on the landscape. The doors welcome you inside.
Through meditative observation I strive to add a sense of humor, a part of telling a story. I feel a responsibility to record what I see on city streets and countryside as life and nature change and suddenly what was there is gone. As I travel the back roads of the country, I am struck by the solitude and history that have come before me. Old cemeteries celebrate our past in monumental solitude. Weathered buildings and forgotten fields capture my imagination, eventually appearing in my paintings. In my still life paintings, I am surrounded by beautiful objects both natural and created and I try to preserve their light and essence.
Biography
Ellen Sklar is an accomplished artist. She studied classic art at the Quater Art School in Tucson, Arizona, an atelier, under mentor Florence Quater, a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago. Further art education included the University of Arizona (Tucson) with an emphasis on commercial and fine art, Traphagen School, New York (fashion design), Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences, Manchester, New Hampshire (fine art), and Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, New Mexico (AAS, fine art and media arts). In Essex, Massachusetts she continued studying under master artist, David P. Curtis, who was one of the most important realists of the Boston School.
Sklar is also a professional illustrator for an educational publishing company. She licenses her art to greeting card publishers, most importantly American Artists Group, in New York. Recently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York acquired a small watercolor for their collections, extremely rare for a living artist.
Sklar continues to create and study at every opportunity and lives in Longmont, Colorado.
Exhibits and Plein Air Events:
Crested Butte Invitational and Plein Air Event, Crested Butte, CO, 11-28 August 2023
Estes Valley Plein Air, Art Center of Estes Park, CO, 17-24 August 2023
NOAPS Plein Air Printout and Show, Boulder, CO, 15-17 May 2023
The Governors Art Show Plein Air Event and Auction, Loveland, CO, 4 June 2022
Central City Opera Plein Air Festival, Central City, CO, 22–26 September 2021 and 2022
Georgetown Plein Air Festival and Exhibit, Georgetown, CO, July–Aug. 2021 and 2022
Jemez Springs Plein Air Event and Exhibit, Jemez Springs, NM, April 2021
Jemez Springs Fine Art Gallery, Jemez Springs, NM, 2021
Moriarty Horse Ranch plein air event sponsored by Western Art Collector magazine, March 2021 (featured in May issue)
Manchester Arts Show, Manchester by the Sea, MA, 2008, 2010
Friends for Peace Annual Fine Art Auction, Newburyport, MA, 2007–2015
Lowell Boat Shop Holiday Show, Amesbury, MA, 2007–2015
Thacher Island Show,Memorial Hall, Rockport, MA , 2012
Charter Trust Co. Solo Show, Concord, NH, 2010
Wolfeboro Art in the Park, Wolfeboro, NH, 2010
Annisquam Exchange and Art Gallery Group Show, Annisquam, MA, 2009–2011
Manchester Arts Show, Manchester, MA, 2008
Chase and Lunt Insurance Company Solo Show, Newburyport, MA, 2008
The Crane Estate Art Show, Trustees of the Crane Estate, Ipswich, MA, 2006–2008
Ipswich Cultural Council Art Show, Ipswich, MA, 2008
Choate Bridge Gallery, Ipswich, MA 2008
Off the Wall Gallery, Newburyport, MA, 2007, 2008
Essex County Heritage at Spencer Pierce Little Farm, Newburyport, MA, 2007
Art in the Barn, Cox Reservation, Essex, MA, June 2007–2016
N. Andover Library Silent Auction, N. Andover, MA, 2007
Hungry Lion Gallery, Haverhill, MA, 2007
Laudholm Painterly Days, Wells, Maine, 2007, 2008
Provident Bank Solo Show, Amesbury, MA, 2007
Bradford Historical Society Show and Auction, Bradford, MA, 2006
Amesbury Cultural Alliance Show, 2006
Provident Bank Group Retrospective Show, Newburyport, MA, 2006
Amesbury Days Artist’s Studio Tour, Amesbury, MA, 2006
Off-the-Wall gallery, Newburyport, MA
Greek Orthodox Church Show and Auction, Newburyport, MA ,2006
The Governor’s Academy Show, Byfield, MA, 2006
Hungry Lion, Haverhill, MA, 2006
Cape Ann Art Festival, Gloucester, MA 2007
N. Andover Library Silent Auction and Show, N. Andover, MA, 2006
Handprint Gallery, Group Etchings Show, Los Alamos, NM, 2006
Azara Gallery, Santa Fe Etchers Group Show, Santa Fe, NM, 2006
Assunta Fox Gallery Group Show, Santa Ana, CA, 2006
Susan Swartzberg Gallery, Solo and Self Portrait Shows Santa Fe, NM, 2006
Gallery Sovereign Group Show, Boulder, CO, 2006
Unitarian Universalist Church Solo Show, Santa Fe, NM, 2006
West End Art Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC, 2005
Pink Cafe, Pink Adobe Restaurant Solo Show, Santa Fe, NM, 2005
Corrales Old Church Fine Arts Show, Corrales, NM, 1991
Summer Art Festival, Tilton NH, 1987
Another Atmosphere Gallery, Newburyport, MA, 1980–1985
Copley Society of Boston Annual Members Auction, Boston, MA, 1977
Marblehead Arts Association Group Show, Marblehead, MA, 1976–78
Marblehead Arts Festival, Marblehead, MA, 1977
Cape Cod Arts Association Group Show, Hyannis, MA, 1976–1978
Collections:
City Hall, Newburyport, MA
Newburyport Public Library, Newburyport, MA
The Grogg, Newburyport, MA
Cushing Museum, Newburyport, MA
Smith Barney, NYC, NY
MetLife, Boston, MA
American Artists Group, NYC, NY
Blacks Gift Shoppe, Wolfeboro, NH
Dalton Club, Newburyport, MA
Many private and public collectors
Associations:
Boulder County Studio Artists
National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS)
Gilpin County Artists Guild, Central City, CO
National Oil and Acrylic Painters of America
Longmont Artists Guild, Longmont, CO
Plein Air Painters of Colorado, PAPC
Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, PAPNM
Santa Fe Etching Group
Newburyport 10 Group, Painters
Newburyport Art Association
Cape Cod Art Association
Marblehead Art Association
Copley Society of Boston
Education:
Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM
Manchester Institute for Arts and Sciences, Manchester, NH
Essex Photography Institute, Essex, MA
Traphagen, Fashion Institute, NYC, NY
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
The Quater School of Fine Art, Tucson, AZ
