Ellen VanderMyde: Storytelling Through Color

Michigan based painter Ellen VanderMyde doesn’t shy away from bright, highly saturated colors. In fact, it’s through her vivd use of color that Ellen is able to visually reconstruct a wide range of memories, emotions, and places - ultimately bringing her work to life. In this interview, Ellen discusses the evolution of her creative journey, and the beauty that emerged when she rediscovered her artistic voice.

Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.

“When the Street Lights Come On” Acrylic on canvas

“When the Street Lights Come On” Acrylic on canvas, (detail)

I grew up in a small city called Kalamazoo, Michigan, and am a jack of all trades when it comes to art making. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from the Frostic School of Art with a minor in Art History but my creative journey began as a child with a crayon in my hand and has wound its way through everything I’ve done since. Growing up I studied visual art, dance, theater, sang, and basically if there were any “creative” classes or activities I was there. Over time everything else fell away and around age 17 a knee injury ended any chance of pursuing dance. I began to exclusively focus on the visual arts, particularly drawing and painting. After high school, I studied painting at SAIC during a summer intensive, then attended the Frostic School of Art where I did everything they would let me, from welding steel to screen printing to working as a TA in the art history department. I also learned new printmaking techniques while studying abroad at the Florence School of Fine Art and was able to attend the Venice Biennale. So my arts background and creative journey has been a long and winding one but full of adventure and exploration.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

“On the Threshold” Acrylic on canvas (detail)

I’m inspired by color, changing seasons, and shifting light; honestly I find inspiration by being alive and looking around. I’m always living, reflecting, and then making something from what I’ve learned, felt, or discovered. I also find inspiration by changing up my mediums and methods as well as looking back through old sketchbooks to pick up loose threads. Painter David Hockney said, “The harder you look, the more you see,” and essayist Annie Dillard writes, “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.” Somewhere between embodying these two concepts is where I find inspiration.

How has your work shifted and evolved over time?

My work has shifted over the years depending on where it’s going and what I’m most interested in at the time. For example, in my early 20s most of my work was in sketchbooks and journals where I would illustrate ideas or snippets from my life. I also made a lot of posters for house shows and bars which would be drawings lifted from my sketchbooks and photocopied at Kinko’s (usually at 1:00 a.m.). Otherwise I would draw or paint on paper and found wood because that’s what I had access to. In college it truly depended on what classes I was taking and who was teaching them. The biggest evolution in my work recently has been a return to form. In undergrad, I started to believe that everything that came naturally to me (narrative, illustration, color, metaphor) was wrong and wound up making a lot of art that looked and acted like my professors’ work. After graduating I felt so confused I stopped making all together. For the first few years, every time I had an idea I would talk myself out of it. This continued until it became live or die and once I hit the bottom I started making again. Once I gave myself permission to make what I want to make, I started to find my own voice again but I now apply everything I learned along the way. I now see art school as the big stretch, where I tried everything, found everything that doesn’t work for me, and in contrast it’s a lot easier to claim what’s mine.

What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?

I tend to split my weeks into “admin” days and “studio” days. On a typical day in the studio I will wake up, have a cup off coffee and sketch or journal, then depending on how awake I am I’ll practice yoga, read, or research. However, if there is a painting on the go, I’ll skip all of this and go straight back to it. On studio days I tend to work from the time I wake up until I go to bed, stopping only to eat and go for a walk. I find that the hardest part for me is starting, so once I’ve entered a flow I try to protect it and work for as long as it will stay with me. Lately my practice has grown in that I’ve found a process that really works for me. When I’m inspired by a particular concept or idea, I research, gather sources and mental images, sketch from life or memory, then paint the image digitally using multiple layers. Once I have a digital mockup, I paint the image on the canvas, building the image through the layers I established. I find that this process not only combines my illustrative sensibilities, printmaking experience, and the immediacy and spontaneity of paint, but also each step infuses the work with more of my memory, emotions, and perception.

Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?

Gosh, this is a tough question because so many of my experiences have shaped my work. Growing up as a queer woman with learning disabilities and social anxiety, I often felt like I was on the outside looking in. However, because of those things, I also became linked to art making in a way where I use art to better understand myself and the world around me. Other experiences such as study abroad programs and residencies have impacted my work in that I made more of it and felt more confident about my vision for my work and myself. Those opportunities also gave me space to make bigger, grander, and more challenging pieces than I would have made at home.

How has Instagram impacted your art career?

“Flash Flood (First Day on Earth)” Acrylic on canvas

Instagram gave me a place to show my work after art school. Having a place for the work to go and receiving feedback from friends and strangers motivated me to continue. Since beginning to share my art publicly on Instagram a year ago, I have had more people reach out to tell me they’re proud of me than any other time in my life. I think people could tell I’d gotten back on the horse so to speak. Instagram has also been a way to put myself “out there,” that as an introvert is much less taxing. Many opportunities have come to me through the app that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. For example, just last year I gave an artist talk, showed in a few galleries, had a public art piece installed during Miami Art Week, attended a residency, was published twice, and was offered a solo show. These are all things I found through the app or they found me. It’s truly mind boggling if I stop to think about it so I don’t stop for too long because I have to keep moving forward.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

The main goal is to keep making, growing, and to not stop. I’m currently a full-time artist. I made a promise to myself when I came out of that deep depression to put myself and my art before all things going forward. More specific aspirations include attending more artist residencies, painting a mural, another solo show, and maybe grad school. This is more of a far off dream but I’d love to open a gallery in my hometown of Kalamazoo for more of the contemporary art being made here.

Instagram: @voyagewithellen

Website: www.voyagewithellen.com