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Born: Columbia, SC

Education: 1993 BFA Savannah college of Art and Design, Savannah, GA

Elena used to paint near the water, doing more realistic work, then eventually started working directly in her studio only from memory to create her work.

Artist Statement:

"Nearness to an ocean, a lake, or a river stimulates and inspires my soul. After years of reflection, I have established a unique and intimate relationship with my subject.

Preliminary studies and paintings are no longer created from life. Instead, a memory or vision is captured in my mind to be interpreted later by emotion. This allows a freer expression of the image to be translated on canvas or panel.

Water changes constantly based on the seasons, the time of day and the weather patterns. I study this evolution in color and 'light play'. My resulting paintings come from these movements of reflection and the memories they stirred."

Awards:

2000 Best of Show Telfair Museum of Art, Juried Exhibition Savannah, GA

1990 Frances Larkin McCommon Scholarship

1987-1990 Gold Key Art Award, Presented by Scholastic Art Awards

1988 Governor's School for the Arts

Exhibitions

2006 Firehouse gallery Damariscotta, Maine

2005 Reign gallery Newport RI.

2003 Savannah Gallery, Atlanta ,GA

2003 Center of the Earth Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2002 Signature Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

2001 Chroma Gallery, Savannah, GA

Red Gallery, Savannah, GA

I. Pickney Simons Gallery, Beaufort, SC

Golden Pacific Arts, San Diego, CA

Fogle Fine Art, Jacksonville, FL

Fish or Cut Bait Gallery, Edisto Island, SC

2000-2001 Tyndall Galleries, Durham, NC

Arnold Gallery, Aiken, SC

Juried Alumni Ex Libris Gallery, Savannah, GA

City Art Gallery, Columbia, SC

1999-2000 Cameo Art Gallery, Columbia, SC

Gardner Gallery, Columbus, GA

Town Square Gallery, Memphis, TN

Midtown Gallery, Nashville, TN

Collections

Marina Del Ray Ritz Carlton, SAS Institute, The Columbia Convention Center JW Marriot in Minneapoils, MN and Newport Beach, CA Chicago Four Seasons

Memorial Medical Center, Savannah, GA

Duke University, Chapel Hill, NC

Paula Wallace, Savannah, GA

Senator Andre Bauer, Columbia, SC

The Tennessee Valley Authority

Strategic Resources, Columbia, SC

Piedmont Technical College, Greenwood, SC

Allegra, Columbia, SC

Wilder Realty, Chapin, SC

KMC Telecom, Columbia, SC

BellSouth, Columbia, SC

Capital Associates, Cary, NC

ALLTEL Stadium Jacksonville,FL.

Jacksonville Port, Jacksonville, FL.

Liberty Property Trust, Horsham, PA