 See these and other Portraits. This article originally appeared in the Front Porch in April, 2002. Mighty Fine Worthy Fine Art By Megan Hicks Date published: April 2002 The Front Porch 
www.front-porch.com
Fredericksburg artist Ellen Worthy Stokes says that sometimes she will step back for a moment from the canvas she's painting -- step back for a moment from her life and savor the notion that this is what she gets to do: Make art! You can see in her work that Ellen's paintings are labors of love. 
The 4"x 4" canvas entitled "Soul of Africa" that arrests you with its figure of a woman wrapped in many many-colored cloths, her dark, dark brown face weathered, strong, ageless…. Another large canvas leaning against the living room wall showing an old woman outdoors in the late afternoon looking out at you, her face set in lines of wisdom and humor and defiance as she stands ramrod straight in her print dress and straw hat, a ripe peach in one hand ("Toscana La Nonna"). And another large canvas, this one leaning against a chair, "Harrison" sprawling in a rocking chair, he's a small boy dressed up like a little colonist in knee breeches and tricorn hat (from Ellen's children's trunk of dress-up clothes) and rainbow striped socks. 
Each of these paintings is a presence, making it hard to maintain eye contact with the
artist I'm trying to interview. My eye keeps locking in with the deeply set brown
eyes of the African woman. I feel like good manners dictate that I include the old
woman with the peach in this conversation. Harrison, he's just a kid listening to the grownups talk, he'll tune in to another station when he's bored with us, so I don't pay so much attention to him, except to check every so often to see if he's still there.The size of these paintings! The life they emanate! The light they emit! Not only the time of day but also the season, the barometric pressure, the arid warmth of one painting, the humid warmth in the other two. I ask her, "Is this just incredibly hard work?" No hesitation: "It's a joy!" A long beat. And then, "No. It is hard. I don't think anyone understands how mental it is." As a child, Ellen found support for artistic expression from her father, who saw to it that she had materials to paint and draw with. But growing up in a small town in Georgia, she found no one to teach her the rudiments of drawing or painting. It wasn't until her junior year of college, at the age of 21, when she took a class in art for elementary teachers that someone recognized her aptitude and potential and said, "Why don't you come to art school?" So she put together a portfolio, submitted her application, got accepted and, earning 20 credits a semester and foregoing sleep, within two years she had earned her MFA. When she finally found her life's path, she hit the ground running, and she hasn't slowed down. Throughout the years of raising a family, years of homemaking and teaching, she has continued to make art. "You can't shelve it until retirement," she says. "It's an urge so strong, you have to meet it for your mental health. I become physically ill if I don't produce art. It's like when you're having a baby and it's time to push." The similarity between output and offspring continues: "I think, besides my children, my art is most precious to me." Currently, Ellen's art production includes the large canvases, from which she plans to make poster-sized prints; some smallish watercolors featuring Fredericksburg local color: architectural, floral, and human; mural and fine art commissions from homeowners; and (something I saw first at an opening downtown at Art First) glitter paintings! 
She seems to be willing to try anything, and while she's unabashedly reverent about
the process of creating art, she is refreshingly free of pretense and preciousness
concerning her creations. Take the glitter paintings. Ellen is happy to tell me she got
the idea of painting with glitter from an artist in New Orleans. She's quick to admit they're difficult to market, because they don't photograph well. With glitter paintings, you sorta hafta be there to see the light work its magic. And then there's the push/pull debate/argument: It's fine art. No it's not. It's dime store glitter. No it's not. It's fine art. She pulls out a pair of 3-D glasses and tells me to look at one of the paintings through those dime store plastic lenses. When Ellen takes a mural commission, she approaches the work as a collaboration. "My clients participate in the process. When I work with a client, the work is ours, and we do have fun!" Far from assuming the role of fussy expert, Ellen regards her clients as her teachers: "…requesting things it wouldn't dawn on me to try otherwise." Implying that once in awhile good art might match the sofa, she says if she can give them what they want, then that's the best gift she can possibly share. If you're lucky enough to have a friend who has commissioned one of Ellen's murals or paintings, get yourself invited over for a viewing. Locally, she shows at Art First at 108 Hanover Street, which she describes as a member supportive co-op, for which she is serving her third year as president. Or you can contact Worthy Fine Art, 374-1961. |