Artist in an Airstream & Blogger

Hi Friends!

I’m a contemporary abstract artist who has found my groove later in life. Living a semi- minimalist life in my Airstream, allowed me to really focus on my acrylic painting. I may start with a broad theme in mind, then,  I follow my intuitive flow and allow images to reveal themselves as I layer on canvas using various mark making techniques, incorporating whole body movement to get paint on the canvas, and practicing really letting go of outcomes and control in the process. 

I want my viewers to pull from my work a sense of resiliency and hope  that carries us beyond life’s circumstances. I love finding beauty and inspiration in day to day life.  I want my bold colors and active lines to show action and growth follow finding one’s voice.  As a Black female artist I feel I bring perspectives not traditionally found in mass in mainstream galleries, and visibility that Black female artists really do exist. 

My hope is that my work connects the viewer with feelings of resilience, self-love, gratitude, hope and beauty. When viewing the work I want you to feel the connections we have  through our varied experiences. 

For my work this next year I will be working on larger scale pieces. I will be exploring the concept of the pursuit of biodiversity in all aspects of the word,  as a response to all of the negative effects climate change is having on us. 

Besides my work in Troutdale, I hope you will go see my two pieces showing at the Newmark Theater in Portland.  And if you are looking for something for a small living space I will also be showing small works in a variety of locations around the Portland Metro. 

For my latest work sign up to follow me here or on instagrams @TinyAdventuresOfElisaMG. Originals are $2.50 a square inch. Prints on Metal are $1.00 a square inch. Commissions, let’s talk!

“A Journey Through Grief”

My book club sent me a gift card for the art store Dick Blick. There is nothing like a live walk in art store. The internet can never do a better job. That said I’m a strong believer in supporting live walk in art stores. Anyhow, they gave me a gift card to process my grief of losing my dad in May of 2022. This beautiful series, which has some of my favorite work, is what came to be. Enjoy

“Love Letters In Paint”

Love Letters in Paint is a small series I did combining poetry I made up with images. The idea was to capture images and thoughts around self love and self care

“Whimsical Dreamer” Whimsical, Colorful Adventures And Dreams, Journey Along With Me. This painting was dedicated to my road dog Dudley. Dudley is a little rescue who has been my sidekick from the beginning. He loves settling into his dog seat up front in the Dodge as we tow the trailer down the road to new and exciting adventures which so far have taken us across The United States and Canada. In spite of his small size, he makes me feel a little more courageous, he snuggles with me when loneliness hits and he makes me laugh, hike and play. He is definitely good for my mental health along the road.

“Eat Your Beets” Eat Your Beets. Buy Local From Proud Farmers. Nourish The Soul. Eat Your Beets. Buy Local From Proud Farmers. Nourish The Soul. Eat Your Beets. Buy Local From Proud Farmers. Nourish The Soul. In Pismo Beach, California we met a farmer at one of the little road side farm stands. He was so proud of his vegetables, especially his beets. He told us all about them, and how to cook them, even the greens. For seven bucks we had veggies for our meal for the week. Eating healthy seems like a no brainer yet it’s easy to not do. Buying from local food stands takes one back to the basics. And venturing out to discover the local delights is good for the soul when traveling to new towns along one’s journey.

“Love Letters To Myself Make Me Smile” This abstract was actually the first in the series of Poetry in Paint. I decided I would paint love letters to myself. I felt a bit silly so I tried to make this one completely abstract. I simply painted what came up for me. And the poem was: Love Letters To Myself Make Me Smile, written in a scribblly unreadable fashion allowing the viewer to simply see marks on canvas and keeping the letters all for myself. The Mandala shape came naturally and could be also interepreted as self.

“A Mothers Love Is Fierce” A mother’s love is fierce. She lays her best intentions by your side. You’ll have many mothers in your lifetime. Keep hope for brighter days. Even mother earth will dance at the sweet sound of peaceful change. Sweet baby close your eyes. Mothers will love you for a lifetime. This poem and painting popped into my head when I heard the stories of mothers in the Ukraine giving their babies away, passing them through crowds over heads so that they could experience safety and freedom and hopefully not be touched by the war. I cried, and cried when I heard of their sacrifice. That is love. It made me think of my biological mother having to let me go so I could have a good life, which led me to thinking about my adoptive mother and mothers in general and the comporomises they make doing all they can to make sure we live well and are loved. Of course that led to all of the other “mothering” I have been so fortunate to experience…. mothering from a strong sisterhood of girlfriends and last but definitely just as important the mothering we give ourselves as we grow into adults and learn how to give ourselves the love we need.

“Femininity Defined”

My Feminity Defined series was inspired by my first experience in a virtual show put on by Black Girls Who Paint, an organization created by Sasha Loraine out of D. C., to honor and document Black Female Artists as well as encourage young Black girls to paint. The idea for the show was to paint what femininity means to us in a nontraditional way. In other words to break out of the over used naked woman or focus on our physical beauty representation of femininity. The show was exciting as it was all online. We got to speak to curators, Art musem officials and other promotional folk. before the general public, speaking about our works. Then we had an opening for the public where they could go in and out of artists rooms and hear us present as well as engage with us in questions and answer sessions. I stumbled upon all of this by accident on instagram, at first thinking it wasn’t real, but honestly it is what catapulted my painting practice to a more serious level. Occasionally I reach out to Sasha and share “studio time” over zoom where we both paint and catch up on where we are at in our business. She is such an inspiration. She even published a book that I am one of the featured Black women artists in. Something like 11% of the reprepresentation of artists in galleries are women, so you can imagine what small percent. of that 11% are Black female artists. Sasha’s book, the group, the efforts of all of us are one more way that we document we are out here. As I painted more pieces for this series things also took on a real spiritual sense and the title morphed a bit.