After a foundation in art, Anne-Marie Ellis gained a degree in fashion design and enjoyed a successful career in fashion for over 20 years. Owning a design consultancy with her (Menswear designer) husband, Anne-Marie designed Womenswear for various luxury brands. This design discipline and aesthetic vision influence Ellis’s artworks; both in the use of colour and stylish subject matter. A palette of muted greys and timeless black and white are enlivened with bright accents and the occasional flash of neon. The textures of lace and the smoothness of glass are rendered in acrylics; she preferred medium. She is as much inspired by Vermeer as she is Rene Gruau… in her artwork, the dramatic darkness and strong light capturing the translucency of glass are influenced by the Dutch masters, while the graphic style and spatial awareness come from studying the great fashion illustrators.
In the same way, a perfume can evoke a memory, a painting can capture the emotion, and Anne-Marie paints the things she loves and the beauty she sees in the everyday. Her paintings are feminine and sensual, a commentary on her life as a woman.
Self-taught or art school?
Art school as far as foundation level, then a degree in Fashion/Print design at Ravensbourne school of design (now the University of Ravensbourne)
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
‘Still Life with a Gilt Cup’ by Willem Claesz. Heda.
I think that I could look at all the details in this dutch still life of metal and glass and always find something new. The fact that it was painted in 1635, pre photography just amazes me. When I saw this for real in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, I was elated.
How would you describe your style?
Still life with style – a reflection of my career in fashion.
Is narrative important within your work?
My paintings are a commentary on my life today as a woman. They are feminine and sensual but through a female gaze. My paintings aren’t concerned with the political, but about capturing emotion, a serene moment of beauty – in the same way, that a perfume can evoke a memory.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I love all the Dutch Masters and their chiaroscuro influence can be seen in my work, but I also love the fashion illustrators such as Rene Gruau for their graphic style and use of unusual perspective.
What or who inspires your art?
Fashion (as it was my previous career) always influences my art, whether it is directly painting branding and logos, iconic ‘house’ colours or capturing lace and texture. Perfume bottles and jewellery are also items that appear often in my still life work.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
Luckily for me it’s at home, but happily a separate annexe from the house – it’s bright but freezing…all year!
Do you have any studio rituals?
Fairy lights, Spotify jazz and a lime-scented reed diffuser are my studio comforts. After I finish painting for the day my habit is to have a cheeky aperitivo/cocktail while I cook dinner, the Italians have that ritual right!
What are you working on currently?
A commission for a perfume bottle and rose, at a larger scale to normal so the challenge has been interesting.
Where can we buy your art?
Off my website www.ellisartworks.co.uk and at www.artrepublic.com