ELLEN KANTRO
Finding Inspiration at Every Turn

I find inspiration in many places – but in abandoned buildings and distressed surfaces in particular. I’m influenced by the patterns of decay, and how traces of time and nature re-shape our surroundings. I strive for my work to evoke surfaces that hint at what was, and what remains.

 

I begin each new painting by applying

something (anything!) onto the surface.

Whether simple marks, paper, or random color blocks, each element informs the next, and the process becomes largely intuitive. Layers of paint and paper are laid down, scraped off and painted over until a history develops. Each element that

I add (or remove) creates a problem that I need to solve, and that's when the fun really begins.I enjoy building up and obliterating layer after layer, and what emerges is always unpredictable and open to interpretation.

​