Santa Fe, NM
Sorrel Sky Gallery, July 5-31
Elsa Sroka, The Dressing Room, oil, 20 x 18.
This story was featured in the July 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
IN A LITTLE less than a decade, Elsa Sroka’s fanciful bovine paintings have captured the hearts and imaginations of a throng of admirers across the country. Eschewing traditional portrayals of cows, Sroka places her subjects in all sorts of whimsical scenarios that surprise and delight viewers, from a cow primly reclining on a dainty sofa to a modest bovine peeking out from a set of dressing-room curtains. Both of these scenes, and around eight other new bovine portraits by the artist, are unveiled this month at Sorrel Sky Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. The show, entitled Subtle Intrigues, opens with an artist’s reception on Friday, July 5, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
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- Elsa Sroka, The Pond, oil, 11 x 14.
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- Elsa Sroka, Ambiguous, oil, 17 x 22.
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- Elsa Sroka, Otto, oil, 20 x 16.
Sroka has been painting cows for nearly as long as she has been painting. Lured by design and color aesthetics since she was a child, the Denver, CO, artist spent many years working as a hairstylist before she embarked on classes at the Art Students League of Denver. She also began exploring a variety of subject matter on her own, soon discovering that the expressive nature of cows suited her loose, partially abstracted painting style. Bovines quickly became her main muse and trademark motif. “The most important thing to me is getting the expression in my cows’ faces and in their body language,” says Sroka. “When I get that, then I feel free to do whatever I need to do around them in my paintings.”
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- Elsa Sroka, Sage, oil, 20 x 24.
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- Elsa Sroka, Sunny, oil, 18 x 18.
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- Elsa Sroka, Winter’s Gold, oil, 16 x 20.
Scraping paint away, creating bold marks, and applying spontaneous textures as she works allow Sroka to engage fully with her imagery as it unfolds on her canvas. Sometimes her compositions are structured and intentional, says the artist, who often gleans ideas for background patterns and color combinations from interior design magazines. Other times, “it’s a process of discovery,” she says. As Sroka works, her abstract marks may take on meaningful shapes. In one of her latest paintings, for example, a brush of charcoal-colored paint unexpectedly took on the appearance of a bird fluttering alongside a languid cow; in another piece, a blue puddle of paint emerged as a small pond that mesmerizes a curious calf. “I also react to the colors I’m putting down on my canvas,” says Sroka. “In this way, painting lets my imagination go where it wants to go, and that’s what I strive for.” —Kim Agricola
contact information
505.501.6555
www.sorrelsky.com
This story was featured in the July 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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