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"Of all lies, art is the least untrue." -Gustave Flaubert

artist's statement

For me, art is about escaping from the world; diving deep into my right brain and forgetting the time, the stress, the chores – everything except the color I’m mixing and how to apply it.  My focus becomes narrow and deep.

But the world intrudes.  I might be painting a self-portrait (I am often painting a self-portrait) when I decide to reference mental illness.  Or I pose some green toy soldiers to make a piece about play and end up with a painting about war.  I might think I leave my left brain behind, but it doesn’t leave me.

I love bright colors and have a sneaking suspicion that polka dots are the basic building blocks of the world.  But while I often create happy-looking, I rarely create happy.

I find life to be a layered, nuanced experience.  And I often find myself creating layers in my work.  I have placed crumpled mylar over a large still life and written all over it.  I have created fabrics and wallpapers and then painted them.  I love to draw on silkscreened prints.  (More self-portraits.)  Rarely anymore am I satisfied with the straightforward.  My mind and eye crave complexity and mystery. 

Until I’m done making.  Then the quotidian will do until next time.


copyright elizabeth e cook