Elaine Callahan is another inspiring artist that you will see in FresnoArts.net. Working mostly with acrylics, each stroke of her brush makes all of her subjects come alive on canvas.

Please tell us something about yourself

I am a self taught artist, although I have taken some classes here and there. I have drawn and painted ever since I can remember, but I didn't get serious about my art until three years ago after my mother had passed as I was taking care of her a good deal of the time and working as well. Since then I have my own studio where I paint three days a week and it is great!

What is your art specialty?

My specialty at the moment is abstract expressionism; although when I want to relax, I paint realism.

How did you start out as an artist?

I started out as an artist as a child. When I had time on my hands I would draw and paint.

What do you do when you are not enclosed I your studio

When I am not painting, I continue to work with children with disabilities as a nurse in the Fresno County Office of Education. Some of the children are medically fragile and as a nurse I help to develop the medical aspects of their educational plan called an IEP. I also help with their care at school. The other children I work with have an emotional disability, so I work with the teacher, the school psychologist and the parents to help make their educational experience successful.

I like the way you manage to capture every little detail of the flowers in your paining. How were you able to capture their essence and make them seem so alive on canvas?

How do I capture the inner life of the flower? I absolutely love every detail in a flower, plant or a landscape. It is as though I reach into the soul of the flower to capture its essence.

You have a painting of a woman in a naked pose tagged as Annette. Can you tell us more about this?

The naked woman I have painted is my daughter Annette. I also see the light of her soul coming through her eyes, just like the flowers. My daughter actually asked me to paint that picture and when I asked her if it was ok to put it on my website, she said "sure". I think that she enjoys her femininity and is proud of how she looks and is not shy about my sharing it with others. She has the painting displayed in her home.

You also have several abstract paintings. Can you describe what you intend to portray in those paintings?

For me abstract painting is a visual picnic. You can look and taste what you like. It is a visual feast. Enjoy the colors, the flow and the rhythm of the painting. View the painting as a visual adventure and sees where it takes you.

How do you look for inspiration when it comes to creating your art?

I look for inspiration for my work in the everyday world. It could be a flower or a bunch of radishes or a photograph with wonderful patterns and colors. I sometimes simply assemble the colors I want to use, make some sweeping gestures and let it take me where it wants to go.

Where do you see yourself and your art 10 years from now?

In ten years, God willing, I will still be painting, but perhaps have grown into my painting and developed greater depth and intrigue. I would also hope to be showing my paintings to a wider audience.

You can view Elaine’s artworks in Artwanted.com/elainecallahan and at elainecallahan.smugmug.com, and at FresnoArts. Do note that these are the only websites that feature the works of Elaine.

Donna Paulino covers most of the topic for the Fresno Interactive Network, including interviews, profiles, and articles that inspire our readers about our local community. She is the social media manager and web producer for Socient, a Fresno web marketing agency that helps non-profit and community benefit organizations thrive with social media marketing, search engine optimization, and web design.

Follow her on Twitter:  @donnapaulino

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