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Ellen McMahill - Bio/Artist Statement I graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL in 1973 with a degree in art unaware of the labyrinth my life would take on the long journey developing myself and my artistic expression. In 1977 I learned to make tapestries on a small hand loom and bought a large tapestry loom (6' x 6') the same year. From then until 1999 I made large tapestries. I participated in art shows, winning one Best of Show and some honorable mentions. I was the area director of Florida Craftsman, a large fine crafts organization, for Northwest Florida for a year in the 1980s. I had solo shows in Tallahassee, Florida. I say all this to explain that I understand the necessity of participating in the political process of art, and that all this happened while I was involved in my personal life of relationships and work. In 1999 I decided to switch mediums because I felt that tapestry weaving was no longer the direction I wanted to go in. I went through a period of making pen and ink drawings with one solo show in Tallahassee, FL in 2002 at a small gallery called Nomads. In January of 2003 I felt a strong desire to paint though I had never felt like painting before. The feeling became so overwhelming that I finally got all the materials together and started painting. It was the most satisfying creative activity I had ever done. It was simply my time to paint. In 2004 I moved from Tallahassee to Atlanta, GA, the largest city close to where I had spent most of my adult life. It was a very lonely time for me, but I got serious about painting and being an artist and met a couple of experienced artists there who helped me become more focused and professional. After several months and some additional moving around, I moved to Los Angeles in January 2006. I learned a lot more about painting in Los Angeles before packing up again to move to Sacramento in late 2007. Until September 2011 I was painting in a magical realist style. I've become more aware of the possibilities of abstract art in the last three years and have been studying color, color theory and new innovations with acrylic paints and new mediums. I've made the transition to abstract using my own method for pouring acrylic paints mixed with various amounts of water. I'm interested in expressing my internal dialogue with color and organic forms, exploring the themes of the essential nature of existence and the effect of color and form on perception as I continue to explore and experiment through the medium of acrylic paint on canvas. Prints of my paintings as well as many of my paintings can be purchased at www.FreeFlowGallery.etsy.com. Resume
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