For months, I’ve had people asking me to invite this talented woman onto the podcast… and the only reason I hesitated? I knew she’d just had a baby and thought it best to leave her alone for a little while! Well, her baby is now eight months old, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Today I’m talking to California based artist Elise Morris. Her ethereal, abstract botanicals make me stop and breathe. Deeply. I’ve always imagined Elise lying in the grass, under a sun-dappled tree with the California breeze dancing through the leaves… I guess we’re going to find out if that’s how she works. Or not! You can listen right up there under those dreamy petals and leaves, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First, her work on paper, because… well, just look at it! Graphite and acrylic {that I totally thought was watercolor… right!?}:

Sigh. Stunning.

Equally as stunning, Elise’s gorgeous paintings on canvas:

I’d love to see those up close ‘n personal … that’s why I included the closeups, so we could all pretend that we’re right in front of them.

We talked a lot about her process – from photographs of leaves and magnolia petals, to blind contour drawings, to loose color blocking – beautiful! My favorite part? That there’s no overthinking… she “just goes”. Quite appropriate that such organic subject matter is created in such an organic way, don’t ya think? Here are a few of her studio/in-progress photos, found on her lovely Instagram feed:

I want to go to there. Those colors, the scale of her work, that big lovely space. Sigh… again.

Alright, so in the not-so-speedy speed round I asked about her favorite color. Any guesses?

Yep, it was a tie between pink and green. Clearly.

I can’t believe I almost forgot to bring this up!? I’ve just “hung” the second show at my new “Fancy Schmancy” online gallery. The show is titled “Au Naturel”, so obviously I asked Elise to create a brand new original piece specifically for this show, and thankfully she said yes! I love it so much… so much in fact, that I used it as the main image for the show:

I mean, come on! Look at those pencil lines, and my goodness, I had no idea acrylic paint could do that! It’s 22″h x 24″w on paper, and is titled “Calling Dawn I.” There is only one, so go buy it right now!

And finally, Elise is the mama of two boys – eight years old, and eight months old. Those lucky boys get to have their mom’s work in the nursery, living room, everywhere:

Aw! I had to include a shot of Elise in her studio with her bebe … those cheeks! Thank you so much to Elise for using an hour of her precious studio time to talk to me; Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and as always, thank you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Bunnie Reiss episode
2. “The Studio Work” – Elise’s blog
3. “Color Play” – Upcoming show at Town of Danville Gallery
4. Upcoming show at Ann Connelly Fine Art, Baton Rouge
5. Sorry, no Peace Corps mural photos – you’ll just have to imagine!

ps. I’ll be in LA next week doing all sorts of book events. One of those events is an art show at Saatchi Art in Santa Monica, Thursday February 17th. I’ll be there from 5-6pm for a little meet & greet, and if you have any of my books, bring them and I’ll have a pen ready for signin’! {more info here}  I’ll also be at Skylight Books, with Martha Rich, doing a talk/signing on Saturday Feb 18th from 5-6pm.