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Arts & Entertainment

Tucker Artist Seeks to Inspire Others

A drive for perfection leads to a clever invention.

There are some creative people who are committed to improving things, whether it is locally or globally, and local artist Elisha Fields is certainly one of these. From being a peace activist in the 1970s to improving her own skills and helping to improve the work of others, she is constantly evaluating her world to see how she can make a contribution.

Her dedication to perfection has driven the evolution of her painting, starting 13 years ago after a successful seven-year career as a message singer in Trinidad and another seven working for the Economic Development Department in Dade County, Fla.

Fields explored various mediums and subjects as she strived to improve her own techniques and the images she was trying to communicate. During her quest, she studied with Nancy Honea, Chris di Domezio, Thomas Key, Chery Baird, Gordon Anderson and Marc Chatov, among others.

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“I'm fairly certain I must have been influenced by 20th century modern artists such as Peter Max, Andy Warhol as well as the beat generation.  One reason I studied with such a wide variety of teachers is because I do not want to paint like anyone but me.”

From copying the old masters, to studying color theory, to doing watercolors and pastels, to cubist exploration, Fields is always looking for more original and captivating images.

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“I call myself an abstract expressionist. I grew up in the 50s so I was definitely influenced by modern art and the freedom of expression it communicates. When I go through museums, I walk quickly by realistic paintings. An apple is an apple and how long can you lose yourself in a vase? I feel contemporary art is more engaging and liberating because it calls on the individual to bring his own interpretation to the images.”

Absorbing so many painting types and styles of application, like many artists, Fields says she went through a period of not knowing what she wanted to do.

“After a dry period, one day I just started painting and fell into a new technique prompted by my husband Tony who is a potter," she said. "I’m now preparing a 20 painting show that will be accompanied by a book I’ve written. After carefully studying a publication created by the Whitney Museum called, the American Century, Parts I & II, I found my own stages were synonymous with how art has evolved, but the books did not address the struggles that artists go through that many people don’t understand.”           

Fields prefers not talking about her show in progress, but is excited about the "Sketch Genie" she created for herself. “My struggles were in creating portraits. The grid method of drawing allowed me to correct the blocks in sketching portraits, but, like other artists, I became frustrated with drawing and erasing the grid lines and calculating ratios for enlargements."        

The Sketch Genie is a portable grid that can be placed over the canvas allowing the artist to dissect the picture into squares maintaining proper proportion and representational integrity.

“My innovation made my own work so much easier and more accurate," Fields said. "I decided to share the technique with others who are as frustrated as I was.”

 

 

 

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