Emerging Artists | D. Eleinne Basa

Creating visual poetry

D. Eleinne Basa, Valley Moonrise, oil, 20 x 24.

This story was featured in the May 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art May 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

Although landscape painter  D. Eleinne Basa calls the East Coast home, her evocative landscapes regular-ly appear in shows throughout the West, from Salon International at Greenhouse Fine Art in San Antonio, TX, to the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Juried Exhibition and Sale at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, CA. As this story was going to press, Basa’s paintings were on their way to the Western Masters Art Show and Sale in Great Falls, MT.

From the time she was a small child, Basa had big dreams of becoming an artist someday—she drew constantly. When she was 7 years old and growing up in the Philippines, her parents enrolled her in classes with a professional artist, and she continued the sessions until she was 13. After graduating from college in 1994, Basa moved to the United States and eventually studied with painters Skip Whitcomb and Scott Christensen. Today she finds inspiration in the work of 19th-century American painters such as tonalist George Inness as well as in the delicate, muted landscapes by Spanish artist Emilio Sánchez-Perrier.

Basa’s moody works often straddle the artistic fence between realism and abstraction. But pinpointing a particular style is not something the artist is concerned with, she says. “Sometimes the subject matter or scene will dictate the approach and also a different look than my other paintings. But I am not worried because it’s all about the process of the work and the learning that goes on with every painting,” the New Jersey-based painter says.

Basa favors scenes with soft, low light conditions. Her signature landscapes depict everything from an old barn on the East Coast at sunrise to the gathering moonlight at sunset over a Pacific Northwest lake. One thing the viewer can count on—no matter the time of day or season Basa is portraying—is that the scene will evoke a strong sense of place and atmosphere. “The landscape is quite a challenge with its ever-changing light and moods,” she says. “To capture that moment of beauty and try to convey the poetry in the scene is what draws me to the landscape.” —Bonnie Gangelhoff

representation
Astoria Fine Art, Jackson, WY; Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA; Germanton Gallery, Germanton, NC; The Artful Deposit, Bordentown, NJ.

Featured in the May 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art May 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!