Elaine Henderson-Steele...Imagination is a wonderful thing!
I grew up in an artistic family so becoming an artist I suppose was assumed at some point in my life however I really did not start working on my art seriously until my children were grown. What started me back up was rather simple, a children's bedtime story written by my sister-in-law. I found so much pleasure in drawing again, loosing myself to the creation of the character and story line. I derive satisfaction from my audience's reaction, feeling that connection as we share the same view.

I work in pastel, color pencil and pen and ink, I prefer the control the dry medium allows me. When I was younger, my brothers leaned more towards pen and ink and oils or acrylics; this left my mother's old set of studio pastels to me. So in a sense, painting in pastels is much like going home.

My inspirations for pieces come from daily life, a simple scene of my cat taking a nap on my sweater, the squirrels playing outside my door or a memory from long ago. I like when my audience feels something, I suppose all artist wish to speak in this way. It brings me pleasure to share this with others, letting them into a world I thought was mine alone.

When asked what I want my legacy to be I would have to say for my art to capture a child's imagination. That would be the greatest honor. The pleasure of knowing my name 'hangs' on someone else's wall, to be passed down to future generation. That feeling when you walk in a gallery and find 'that' painting that seems to speak to you, the one you will come back to visit until you have the money to purchase it. Being able to inspire such passion for a simple image is all any artist could hope for.

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Elaine Henderson-Steele