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Artist Ellie Contreras

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my 4 hour portrait of @russelltovey for portrait a

my 4 hour portrait of @russelltovey for portrait artist of the week, I don’t think I quite got the likeness, maybe I could have got there with more time but I wanted to challenge myself to do it in 4 hours. I really enjoyed the chat, Russell’s passion for art really shone through and I really identified with what @kemionabuleart was saying about moving away from realism so she can express herself more, I love her contemporary figurative work.
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#mypaotw #russelltovey #portraitpainting #skyportraitartistoftheweek #skyportraitartistoftheyear #paotw

Yay my painting of baroness Floella Benjamin made

Yay my painting of baroness Floella Benjamin made it onto the show, thanks #skyportraitartistoftheweek . Im getting ready to paint Russell Tovey, I’m going to try and finish in the 4 hour live show. Good luck everyone! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s paintings.
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#portraitpainting #oilpainting

My painting of @baronessfloellabenjamin for this y

My painting of @baronessfloellabenjamin for this yesterday’s @skyarts #mypaotw
Great interaction between her and @fatimapantoja.artist who is lovely, I met her once the two of them were a very uplifting combo.
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I listened to Floella on desert island disks recently and was struck by what a sunny optimistic person she is, its on bbc iPlayer if you fancy a listen she is a very inspiring woman.
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As much as I dislike teeth in portraits it was impossible not to paint her smiling because she always is! At one point she brought Humpty out and I felt very nostalgic because i am old enough to remember Floella presenting Play School in the 80’s. So I decided to include him in the Portrait.
Swipe for progress shots.
Oil on canvas 20cm
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@artistoftheyear #oilpainting #portraitartist #portraitartistoftheweek #portraitartistoftheyear #floellabenjamin #baronessfloellabenjamin #oilportrait #contemporaryportraitpainting

My portrait of Samira Ahmed for portrait artist of

My portrait of Samira Ahmed for portrait artist of the week #mypaotw a very interesting and intelligent lady and a good face to paint, lovely skin tones, curly hair and an adorable ‘thinking crease’ between her eyebrows, Creases are beautiful ladies!
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#samiraahmed #skyportraitartistoftheyear #portraitartistoftheweek #oilpainting #portraitpainting #contemporaryportraitpainting

Congratulations America on your new president Joe

Congratulations America on your new president Joe Biden and first female Vice President Kamala Harris. Decency, integrity and empathy wins!
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#loveart #loveartwork #lovepainting #oilpainting #goldart #limitededitionprint #affordableart #artgifts #wallart #loveprint #typographyart

Here is my painting of @melanieblatt for sky port

Here is my painting of @melanieblatt for sky portrait artist of the week. This was a fun one for me because I was a fan of All Saints in the 90’s and their baggy trousers and exposed midriff look! Also both artist and sitter were of a similar age to me so I really related to the conversation which was very much about the wisdom you have accumulated at this point in your life, and looking back to your younger self. I decided I wanted to convey this in my portrait and captured Melanie as she was looking out the window lost in contemplation with a hint of a smile..
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Oils 20cm2
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#mypaotw #portraitpainting #skyportraitartistoftheyear #portraitartistoftheweek #skyportraitartistoftheweek #allsaints #melanieblatt

How exciting to see my painting featured on Sky po

How exciting to see my painting featured on Sky portrait artist of the week today, thank you @skytv . I’m just about to start this weeks painting challenge, I’ll post it tomorrow, good luck everyone taking part!
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#skyportraitartistoftheweek #portraitpainting #portraitart #oilpainting

I took part in sky portrait artist of the week yes

I took part in sky portrait artist of the week yesterday. This week DJ Nihal Arthanayake @therealnihal who sat for a four hour live zoom sitting. I joined late so did the first two hours in the live sitting and two hours today from a screen shot. Four hours isn’t very long so it is a little rough but I don’t mind that, I think it adds energy. It was a good challenge to push me out of my comfort zone i’m going to give it a go next Sunday. Oil on canvas panel 20cm.
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#mypaotw #portraitpainting #skyportraitartistoftheyear #portraitartistoftheweek

I painted a new version of my flamenco dancer toda

I painted a new version of my flamenco dancer today, I decided the old one was a bit dark and moody. I wanted to practice making my brush strokes really expressive and lively. Oil on canvas 50cm
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#flamencodancer #expressivepainting #expressiveart #dancepainting #spanishdancer #figurativeart #figurativepainting #oiloncanvas

New 5” mini portrait - guess who?? . . . #oilonc

New 5” mini portrait - guess who??
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#oiloncanvas #miniportrait #jimmihendrix #jimmihendrixart #portraitpainting #popart #portraitart

I’m getting back to work on my mythology collect

I’m getting back to work on my mythology collection here is Dionysus 30cm x 30cm oil on canvas.
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#dionysus #mythology #figurativeart #contemporaryart #contemporaryfigurativeart

Another mini 5” portrait for the collection, I t

Another mini 5” portrait for the collection, I tried to capture her slightly sulky expression. These are now available as prints in my shop. My favourite Amy Winehouse lyric is “life is like a pipe and I’m a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside” makes no sense at all and yet i know exactly what she means.
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#amywinehouse #jazz #amywinehouseart #amywinehousepainting

Another mini 5” portrait on box canvas. Did you

Another mini 5” portrait on box canvas. Did you know it was David Bowie before I just told you? Let me know in the comments.
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My reference was a photo from 1974 when he styled himself for a photo shoot with photographer Terry O’Neill who later said “He walked into the studio with the most vibrant yellow-mustard suit and his hair was multi coloured - a combination of yellow, orange and red. I remember thinking how tired he looked, knowing what we know now he was living very fast in 1974, and you can see that in his eyes.”
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He was just so cool wasn’t he!
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#oilpainting #portraitpainting #popart #davidbowie #davidbowieart #contemporaryportrait #contemporaryportraitpainting #affordableart #miniportrait #portraitart #musicart

Today I painted this mini portrait of #audreyhepbu

Today I painted this mini portrait of #audreyhepburn , I was trying to keep my brushwork really loose which is hard on a 5” canvas but I really love how it turned out. Limited edition prints will be available soon and more mini portraits to come xx
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#styleicon #audreyhepburnart #portraitart #popart #portraitpainting #portraitpaintings #contemporarypopart #wallart #walldecor #affordableart #colourpop

I just got the happy news that I got through the f

I just got the happy news that I got through the first stage of the Visual Art Open International Emerging Artist Award with this painting of Circe and Medusa. It’s just the first stage though so trying not to get my hopes up. I had a wobble earlier this week as I got a rejection for an exhibition I had my heart set on so this has given me a much needed boost and glimmer of hope. When you’re an artist you have to develop a very thick skin!
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#visualartopen #contemporaryfigurativeart #mythologyart #modernart #figurativeart #womanartist #oilpainting

I was planning on going camping in Cornwall before

I was planning on going camping in Cornwall before the end of the summer but all the campsites are fully booked so I had to go there in my imagination instead. Here’s a little painting of me doing some imaginary crabbing in an imaginary harbour village in Cornwall. What’s real anymore anyway!
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#illustration #figurativeart #illustrativeart #cornwall #cornwallpainting #cornwallart

Shop update! Ive just added this cute little print

Shop update! Ive just added this cute little print to my shop. Each print is hand finished with gold leaf on the word 'love'. Limited edition only 20 available, signed and numbered 8" x 8" comes with the mount ready to frame. Follow the link in my bio to my shop for more info. Happy Friday everyone xx⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#wallart #artist #homeinteriorsuk #homedecor #giftideas #romanticart #ornatetypography #interiormilk #loveart #vintageart #affordableart #love #typographyart #homeaccessories #homestyling #gicleeprint #fineartprint #limitededitionprint

Today I visited the Musée d’Orsay in a very ho

Today I visited the Musée d’Orsay in a very hot Paris! Swipe for my highlights. A really wonderful Picasso I have never seen before called ‘La Buveuse d’absinthe’. Some gems from my favourite trailblazer post impressionists, Bonnard, Gauguin and Cézanne plus I learnt more about ‘Les Nabis’ a group of post-impressionist French painters inspired by Gauguin, Cézanne and Japanese art. I especially liked Edouard Vuillard
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#paris #museedorsay #parisfrance #parisart #gauguin #picasso #cezanne #bonnard #edouardvuillard

Circe dealing with the bindweed. I love this chara

Circe dealing with the bindweed. I love this character from Greek mythology. She was exiled to an island for eternity where she discovered she had a gift for sorcery using plants. One day some sailors who came across her island, attacked her, thinking she was a week helpless woman on her own. After that she was determined not to let that happen again and made a potion to turn any subsequent threatening men into pigs. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#circe #femenistart #mythology #greekmythology #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #artistsoninstagram #instaart #contemporaryartist #femalepainters #contemporaryfigurativeart #oiloncanvas #modernfigurative #figurativeartist #ukart #contemporaryartcollector #figurativepainting #contemporaryartcollectors⠀⠀

This paitning depicts the goddess Hera who was mar

This paitning depicts the goddess Hera who was married to the womaniser Zeus, once he turned his lover Lo into a cow to hide her from his wife hence the cow. She has ‘ I love you but I hate you’ round her head because she was consumed with jealousy which made her quite vindictive. I have her holding a peacock which she is associated with, and a lily which symbolises innocence and purity as I see her as one of those women who keep up the appearance of being perfect and innocent. I was inspired by a painting by Robert Winthrop Chanler who was a wonderfully bohemian American early 20th century artist which I’m coming to realise is the era I’m most drawn to at the moment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#contemporarymythology #mythology #greekmythology #hera #mythologyart #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #figurativeart #contemporaryfigurativeart #femalepainter #oiloncanvas #oilsoncanvas #paintingoil #oilpainting #figurativepainting #art #figurativepaintings #paintings #igarts #contemporarypaintings

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