ColorForms: paintings by Ellen Oster
Ellen Oster’s paintings incorporate layers of shape, color and texture moving rapidly across the canvas. They emerge from her years of experience with color and composition. One can see past influences as a textile designer and pastel painter in her current work. An intuitive artist, she lets her inner voice guide her from inception to completion. Ellen’s work is immediate and instinctive. Although spontaneous, she contemplates the movement, interaction, and balance of shapes of colors. Viewing art is a visceral experience and Ellen hopes her work ignites emotion. Many observers of her paintings use the words “energetic”, “other worldly”, and “spiritual”. A courageous painter, she is always challenging herself and allowing investigation into what may be next in her art.
Ellen Oster is an abstract painter, figurative, landscape artist who received her BFA in painting from the NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY and an AAS in Textile and Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY, where she was an adjunct professor for forty years. She was also an adjunct professor at Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY and the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY. Ellen started painting pastel portraits while studying with Wende Carporale and continues to study at the Washington Art Association in Washington, CT with Ira Barkoff and Heather Neilson. She has participated in exhibitions at the Fashion Institute of Technology, exhibited in juried shows at Hasting-on Hudson Village Arts Commission, the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, the Washington Art Association’s member shows and fundraisers, Flanders Nature Center and Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury, CT. Ellen holds two United States design patents and has authored the book “Textile Design Using Photoshop”.
Ellen Oster always knew she’d be an artist, but selecting a medium proved elusive. Initially aiming to be a sculptor, she attended the College of Ceramics at Alfred University. From there, she segued into studying and then teaching textile design (with side dalliances into dance and serving as Martha Stewart’s kitchen assistant). After retiring in 2021 following 41 years of teaching, Oster again explored several artistic expressions including portraits and landscapes. Currently, the “Color Forms” art show at the Minor Memorial Library gallery exhibits her abstract acrylics on canvas reflecting her current fascination for layering color and shape. Her goal is “to make color work together with a little surprise.”
An explosion of daring color, each canvas explores tonal interaction. “It’s very physical, with a lot of movement in the brushstrokes,” she says. Not surprisingly, many of the works incorporate cross-weaving, reminiscent of Oster’s textile design past. “When I’m painting, I don’t think about my training. But it comes back to me in a flood of color and value.” The show is an adventure in vibrant, radiant color.
