Art from the Void

Art book currently in the works including paintings, studio photos, and writings by Elise Mesnard.

Elise Mesnard, Art From the Void cover

New Book Available Soon- The Order of the Days

I recently illustrated "Tuesday" for a book entitled The Order of the Days by Brendan Schweda. The book explores the origin, pantheons, and esoteric nature behind the days of the week. Tuesday, across many cultures, has been associated with the spirit and deity of conquest and power.

"Tuesday"

To see more from the book, visit it's page HERE

Open Studio Night

Shots from my new art studio at Civilian Studios and their annual Open Studio Night

© Elise Mesnard 2015

© Elise Mesnard 2015

Calling of Doctor Faustus Prints Now Available

13.5" x 14" digital prints of The Calling of Doctor Faustus are now available in my etsy shop, Oakthorn Studios. They're printed with archival inks on archival paper and i'm very satisfied with the color accuracy to the original intaglio print.

The Calling of Doctor Faustus by Elise Mesnard, Intaglio

~Elise Mesnard

Delphi

Newest work, Delphi, is now finished. Inspired by the Oracle Of Delphi.

Delphi, Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in, 2014

~ Elise Mesnard

Ampelos

The moment between the inhale and exhale amongst a forested scene where a faun gently rests, either before or after an act, embodying a male sensuality and virility of youth. I find myself lying beside it in the studio, reflecting the pose, after a long painting session that has exhausted me. The troubles of the world outside the reposed faun seem distant and muted.

Ampelos by Elise Mesnard
 Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40 in
© Elise Mesnard, 2013

"Bacchanalia" Artist's Reception

This past weekend I traveled up to visit a collector and chat with visitors about my recently completed painting "Bacchanalia" it was a lovely evening with much merriment.

Bacchanalia, Oil on Canvas, 38.5 x 50.5 in.
© Elise Mesnard 2013

Painting up a storm!

Posting after a very long break from updates on here (apologies). I am now in Portland Oregon and have almost finished setting up my studio, but in the mean-time that hasn't stopped me from getting paint everywhere! Here's a shot after a particularly long session on a new piece i'm working on. Cheers!

Elise Mesnard

Work to be sent to show in Hong Kong!

I've just been informed that 8 of my paintings have been purchased and will be in a painting show in Hong Kong! I'm so very excited and grateful, and cannot wait to find out more about when the show will take place.
Here are the paintings that they purchased...

"Coyote & Crow", 2012, 60" x 60", Oil on Canvas

"Male Reborn" & "Female Reborn", 2011, 36" x 24" Oil on Panel

 "Cicada" & "NYC", 2011, QR Code Audio Panels

"Male" & "Female", 2011, 36" x 24" Oil on Panel

Coyote & Crow

"Coyote and Crow" Diptych, Each 60" x 60", Oil on Canvas

Here's the finished Coyote and Crow painting I've been working on!

"Coyote" 60 x 60", Oil on Canvas, by Elise Mesnard

"Crow" 60 x 60", Oil on Canvas, by Elise Mesnard

Check out the preliminary stages here:
http://elisemesnard.blogspot.com/2012/05/coyote-and-crow-diptych-on-trickster.html

A Study in Abstraction & Dante's Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) by Elise Mesnard

Inferno,  30x 40"
Acrylic, Twine, and Plaster on Canvas

Purgatorio,  30x 40"
Acrylic, Twine, and Plaster on Canvas

Paradiso,  30x 40"
Acrylic, Twine, and Plaster on Canvas

Fantastically invigorating project, I hope to create more like them in the future. Inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedies (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso).

Cheers,

 Elise Mesnard

The Alchemical Base (Tria Prima)

According to Paracelsus, the Three Primes (Tria Prima) are: 
-Salt (base matter) 
-Sulfur (omnipresent spirit of life) & 
-Mercury (fluid connection between the High and the Low)

Salt, Sulphur, & Mercury
Oil on Canvas
Each Panel 60" x 24"

I absolutely loved this series, and plan to do more in the future.




Till then, 
~Elise Mesnard

Coyote and Crow, a Diptych

My newest series Coyote and Crow creates a diptych with larger than life figures, inspired by Native American shamans embodying the god or spirit they wished to invoke. Coyote and Crow were both trickster spirits who brought misfortune to the humans through their play but also acted as a balancing act in relation to the other gods. As Coyote and Crow are both very cunning they naturally fought quite a bit against one another. In the diptych, I show the heated gaze between the two and have placed them in an otherworldly atmosphere in which the shaman would enter to cross the bridge between the unseen divine in nature and the physical mundanity of our existence.

The completed images shown here are preparatory drawings for the Coyote and Crow paintings, I feel that drawing them out and fully working on the problems within placement, composition and rendering- helps me better carry out the final painting (which is on two 5' x 5' canvases, as opposed to the drawings, which were only 4' x 4')

Crow (Left) and Coyote (Right)
 Conte and Charcoal with Gesso on Panel, 48" x 48" each

"Crow" Underpainting

Starting the "Coyote" underpainting

"Coyote" figure portion of the underpainting almost complete!

Getting to work on the paintings, wish me well!

xox Elise Mesnard

Alchemy Series

Started working on my new series on the pseudo-science of alchemy in its old-world medicinal setting. Originally inspired by the Plague Doctor, for each painting I have an herb associated with the old practices of medicine or with alchemy or witchcraft in general. Left is Mugwort, center is Belladonna, and right is Datura. Then I have the three base component alchemical symbols, Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury. And at the bottom I have a representational object- A mortar and pestle, an animal's skull, and a rounded glass vial. 

Working on Belladonna

"Genius"

The author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some large topics. Her next fascination: genius, and how we ruin it. Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It is a witty, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Phenomenal performance piece by Oliver de Sagazan.


I found it extremely inspirational. It is as though he is a modern day shaman, descending into the unknown depths of not only the primal psyche, but also madness.

Cicada Series: A Reflection on Metamorphosis and Modernity

Female
Oil on Panel

Male
Oil on Panel

Female Reborn
Oil on Pane

Male Reborn
Oil on Panel

Concept

            The buzz of the cicada has always been a subtle soundtrack to my life’s growth in the south. This complex rhythmic symphony can seem overwhelming at times, especially for those unaccustomed to the sheer density of sound that such a chorus can reach. The same can be said for bustling metropolitan areas of major cities such as New York. Using contacts in both rural Texas as well as downtown New York City, I was able to receive recordings of each locations distinct heartbeat. For those accustomed to the south, the cry of the cicada at night when much of the world is quiet is the very essence of nature in the hot summer months. Whereas those in New York or any other major city can feel the pulse of their metropolis through the cacophony of sounds produced by the inhabitants therein.

            It is with this project that I was able to explore the idea of the nature, which we all come from, to the technologically advanced civilization we have metamorphosed into. Through the powerful medium of sound, I have aimed to place two sounds that can both be considered beautiful and irritating up against one another. Though they appear to be contrasting, they are two sides of the world many of us know— that of the natural, and that of the technological. This installation also aims to show the idea of a conceptual metamorphosis through the medium of the figure and cicada, displaying a kind of pseudo history of growth, from nature to modernity.

Nature is the exoskeleton from which we all originate;

shedding it to different degrees as we attend the metamorphosis of modernity. 

  

Cicada
Oil on Panel
(center button plays cicada hum sound clip)

 

New York
Oil on Panel
(center button plays busy downtown sound clip)

Mánagarm, Moon Hound

"Mánagarm" the Moon Hound
Graphite on Paper

     One of the Fenris Wolf's offspring, Mánagarm, also called Hati Hróðvitnisson. Its sibling is Sköll which chases the sun just as Mánagarm chases the moon. At Ragnarok they will devour the heavenly bodies and Fenrir will break his bonds and devour Odin.

"Ah, New York in the Spring"/ 21 Days to Midsummer

    So several friends of mine have traveled to New York City this past spring, and many of them are there for the summer. When I was challenged to create a three animal hybrid I created the Frilled Lizatog which is a combination of the Frilled Lizard, Rat, and Dog. I was thinking about what kind of creature might form in the miles of underground sewage that exists under downtown new york, the resulting creature made me smile.

"Ah, New York in the Spring"
Gouache on Paper

Having worked very little with Gouache it was quite an interesting experience, and i've found it was basically a giant battle against the flattening nature of the paint.

------------------------------------
"21 Days To Midsummer"

21 Days to Midsummer's Creator,
Benjamin Frankenberg

    A good friend of mine and extremely remarkable actor, Benjamin Frankenberg, created an artistic endeavor called
21 Days To Midsummer in which he challenged artists to essentially record the daily adventures and inspirations from the world around them, spanning from the start of June to Midsummer (June 21st).

It is a phenomenal celebration of both life and the arts. All were invited to document their journeys in whatever medium and style they choose, as well as whatever seemed most applicable to the situation (Paint, Photograph, Drawing, Poem, etc.). Then at Midsummer he has plans to throw a celebratory party and presumably post his own adventures and ask others to do the same. To read more about the sensational event, click here.

Unfortunately I have been traveling for most of the beginning of June and have taken quite awhile to unpack and settle myself in. Now facing the last few days of the event I find myself lacking, and worse for it.

However, the challenge to make every day a memorable experience has never been far from my thoughts, and if I were to think about it i'm certain I could make an itemized list of every single day and state the extraordinary experience I had therein. The only regret I have is not even sketching, writing, photographing, or otherwise recording the occurrences in any way. Jealously guarding my journey, unwilling to reveal it to the world in a physical form.

But all in all, even entertaining the idea of making every day count, and living with artistic purpose, made all the difference.


Until next time,
~Elise Mesnard

Monster Series

So awhile back I started a monster series and once everything calms down I'd really like to start them back up. The first one I did is called Chrom-Luach

"Monster: Chrom-Luach
Feeds solely on the Eyes of the Innocent, when nearing starvation, will gouge out and consume its own eyes. Such being poisonous, it will then proceed to vomit an acidic paste which can be smeared over one's eyes to induce prophetic visions."

 The next is called the Eldingar Hestur.


"Monster: Eldignar Hestur
Rides on the stomclouds before battle and appears to the future victor as a powerful warhorse. Its tail is made of lightning which is thrashes about, causing all it strikes to become blind and deaf."

I'd love to be able to make an entire bestiary of them as well as individual prints.

I already have one fellow artist that wants to pay me for a print of Chrom-Luach so now I just need to get my stuff in order and do it!