Jon Ellis
Working with richly layered oils, Ellis lays down oil paint with such generosity it’s impossible to ignore.
Delicious
Currently Showing
There is something wonderfully satisfying about a Jon Ellis painting. Working with richly layered oils, Ellis lays down oil paint with such generosity it’s impossible to ignore. Thick luscious and gloriously tactile, the paint becomes the subject. It catches the light, holds colour and gives each work a presence that feels wonderfully tangible - almost edible.
Whether depicting fruit, the Australian rugged landscape or the striped roof of a circus tent, his work celebrates the expressive possibilities of paint. Delicious brings together a collection of works that are vibrant, tactile and full of life. The title is a nod to both the subject matter and the luscious quality of the paint itself - paintings that invite you to linger, to look closely and savour every colourful bite.
Still Life
Oysters – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 510 × 410mm – $950
Tomatoes and Knife – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 510 × 410mm – $950
Grapes and Papaya – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 510 × 410mm – $950
Truss Tomatoes – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 360 × 280mm – $650
Small Grapes – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 360 × 280mm – $650
Fishy I – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 360 × 280mm – $650
Fishy II – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 360 × 280mm – $650
Landscape
Landscape I – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 720 × 360mm – $1,300
Landscape II – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 340 × 220mm – $600
Landscape III – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 370 × 170mm – $650
Landscape IV – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 310 × 210mm – $550
Landscape V – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 670 × 540mm – $1,400
Bigtop
Bigtop – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 630 × 480mm – $1,200
Bigtop Study – Oil on Canvas (framed) – 380 × 310mm – $650
Previous Artworks
Uluṟu Mulga – Oil on Canvas – 240 × 290mm – $650
Yellow Trees – Oil on Canvas Board – 285 × 355mm – $650
Melaleucas with Blue Stripe – Oil on Board – 250 × 330mm – $750
Melaleucas with Orange Stripe – Oil on Board – 250 × 330mm – $950
Headland Morning Sun – Oil on Canvas Board – 500 × 600mm – $1,350
Jon Ellis Statement
After many years of painting I'm pleased to say that it is still all a bit of a mystery why a painting works. I may not know why a painting works but I do know that I like what paint can do. I take risks when applying paint, relying a lot on chance, hoping to improve on what I've done, going beyond illustration to something more impactful and visceral. I want to be surprised.
My subjects may be varied but they all have one thing in common, they are all drawn from direct experience with drawing at their core. Whether it's a pot, a person or a place each is an opportunity to try and realize my sensations. The challenge is to connect with my subject and then translate that experience into a visual language. It was after all Paul Cezanne who famously said "With an apple I will astonish Paris." I'm pretty sure he didn't have any great love for apples , they were just a vehicle for his expression, and a means to change the art world for ever.
There is no road map for where I want to go. I have no idea what the end result will be. Not knowing how to get to my destination and being lost in unfamiliar territory can be unsettling. Through a process of applying paint and scraping off I hope to eventually arrive at a place full of surprises yet strangely familiar.
I started my career in film animation. The mantra there was "If you can't draw forget it." Here up to 24 drawings per second were required to portray movement . With my skipping ladies I feel I have come a full circle. They are based on watching a 30 second video loop of expert skipping routines set to music. However with these works I was trying to distil 30 seconds of movement into a single image.