Ellie Dean
Hi, I’m Ellie Dean, I’m a self-taught artist from the UK, Hertfordshire. My mediums are oil and acrylic paint.
I’ve always loved doing art, but it became a huge part of my life in helping me cope with a life changing injury. In 2015 I became paralysed from the waist down, due to surgery to remove a large tumour. Art has definitely saved me mentally. My injury can sometimes make me feel a bit low, but art has really helped me get through it.
My inspiration process is searching through lots of different and eye catching images, and that normally sparks an idea in my head for the next painting. I love working on close up images so I can capture all the details to make my paintings more intense and emotive. Rather than using a distant image. A few artists who inspire me are Nick Sider, Mike Dargas and Julia Ryan.
My process when I work in acrylic is different to when I work in oil paints. Due to acrylic drying so quickly my technique is to build layers. I use acrylic for painting animals so I can build on the fur and depth. When working with oils, I’m normally able to paint in one layer, as oil dries very slowly, I have time to blend so that the transitions look seamless. This is why I use oils when painting portraits to create smooth skin. It all depends on what look I’m trying to achieve.
My favourite part is when I step back from being so focused and suddenly I can start to see my painting come to life on the canvas. It’s the best feeling. I hope you enjoy my artworks as much as I enjoyed creating them.
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