Third Thursday Art Night · Ellie Rose

About This Show

As a member of the Vista Guild, the Koger Center for the Arts partnered with The Jasper Project to open a new rotating art space, titled The Nook, in celebration of Third Thursday Art Night. This month’s featured artist in The Nook is Ellie Rose.

Artist Bio:

Ellie Rose is an MFA graduate of the University of South Carolina and a BFA graduate of Virginia Tech. Ellie is from Buffalo Junction, a small rural tobacco community in southeast Virginia. Since the pandemic, Ellie’s artwork has been more inspired by interiors than landscapes and instead of pure fantasy, she embraces her own life and relationships as subject matter.

Artist Statement:

My paintings are an expression of adoration for the people I love most. Articulating my emotions verbally can be challenging but creating imagery representative of my favorite people has always been my clearest communication of love. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been inspired by interiors rather than landscapes. And a bit of realism has blended with the fantasy. While teaching at USC has deepened my appreciation for classical art and master painters, I am now interested in combining both classical and modern painting techniques and ideas. Change is the only constant. People come and go. These paintings are about my relationships and how I perceive each individual. I pay homage to the people and places I love, even if they are sometimes a little fabricated and fantastical. The bonds I have with these people will unquestionably last a lifetime. My circle is small, and I want everyone to know how big my love is.