Artwork and Blog

Behind The Curtain

This is the part where I help you learn more about the art world. From how to hang the painting you just purchased, to what it’s like to be an artist and my sassy opinions on the art world.

I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already. That makes sense considering I slept through the first 8 months. To date, besides a few measly paintings for 30 in 30 back in January, I have not completed one painting this year. It’s so easy to beat myself up […]

2018, I hardly knew you!

December 5, 2018 in Behind The Curtain by Elisha

I have long held a belief about how to learn art. I feel like it’s an obvious belief and I know many of my artist friends feel the same so it’s not revolutionary, yet, many art schools seem to miss it entirely. Technical skill is super freaking important. Concept is […]

Vindication

April 20, 2018 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / art school / art students / concept by Elisha

I am already back in Illinois and I’m starting to move into my temporary studio for the rest of the year or so. The weather has been much warmer and I’m changing a few things with the ol’ art biz. I didn’t want to wait to start if the weather […]

Studio, Sweet Studio

February 19, 2017 in Behind The Curtain tagged art studio / facebook live / live paintng / new studio by Elisha

I think we are all ready for this year to be over. Aren’t we always though? I want to take the last day of the year to reflect on everything I accomplished in 2016. A lot of people do these types of posts and I don’t know about anyone else, […]

What A Year!

December 31, 2016 in Art Life / Behind The Curtain tagged end of year / taking stock by Elisha

So, now you know your primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Now, it gets good. Complementary Colors Oooooh yeah. This is why the color wheel is not arbitrary. Other than the fact that every color leads to another and it shows you which colors make the other colors, but whatev. Here’s […]

Basic Color Theory: Part 2 Complementary Colors

July 21, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / color mixing / color theory / color theory is legit / complementary colors / Painting / when you diss color theory you diss yourself by Elisha

What’s the big deal about color theory? Thank God, somebody finally asked me. I’ll tell you. That right there is a color wheel. It shows your Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary colors. When I picture a color wheel, my reds are to the left and blues to the right, but […]

Basic Color Theory: Part 1

July 14, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / blue / color theory / color wheels aren't arbitrary so shut up / colors / fun times / green / orange / Painting / red / violet / yellow by Elisha

This is one of my favorite paintings I have done. I went to Thailand, a place I’d been wanting to see for years. In Thailand, when they say thank you, they place their hands in prayer position and bow slightly. I kid you not, I went on a 3-hour boat […]

The Story Behind Thank You:

July 5, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / artist / Elisha Dasenbrock / Painting / thank you / Watercolor by Elisha

Or, why I started blogging. Ya know, whichever. I love blogs in general. I love seeing a glimpse into people’s lives and knowing I’m not alone. I love reading how they react to the bad in life and celebrate the good. I tend to get in the grumpy, “I hate […]

The Birth Of A Legend…

June 16, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / bossy / life / real talk by Elisha

It’s wrong. Yes, some of the best artists ever were poor artists and died penniless, but can we just stop? Do you know why these people died penniless? They weren’t appreciated. People didn’t recognize genius when it was right in front of them. How could they? That’s part of why […]

I’mma Let The Poor Artist Myth Finish, But…

June 1, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / artists / myth / poor artists / starving artists / success / success as an artist by Elisha

Can we talk? I mean, really talk? You may know, if you look slightly to your right, I wrote a book on how to buy art. Part of that very short book is discussing ways on not getting ripped off. Ask about materials, is there are guarantee, etc. I realized […]

This Guy Spray Paints Flea Market Finds. You Won’t Believe ...

March 7, 2016 in Behind The Curtain by Elisha

Rothko, Picasso, Pollock. Those poor guys. So misunderstood by the masses. I, and I’m sure you, have heard over and over how bad these artists are and a kid could do it, etc. Maybe even said it yourself. I know I hated Picasso. His figures were grotesque. I saw a […]

6 Reasons Rothko Is Not A Joke.

February 17, 2016 in Behind The Curtain tagged abstract / dead / genius / rothko / soul toucher by Elisha

At least, not entirely. I’ve been having this discussion since art school. Mostly with kids in art school who learned simply to parrot what sounded cool instead of considering what it actually meant. After one such occasion, when a girl snobbishly used that quote to argue a point I had […]

Why I Don’t Agree With “Inspiration Is For Amateurs.”

December 9, 2015 in Behind The Curtain tagged Art / artist block / inspiration by Elisha

Everyone has an opinion. We all know this. I’m either told I’ll never make it or people gush on a regular basis. There’s never an in between. No one says, “Meh, you’re okay.” or, “You can earn a moderate income doing that.” Although, I have gotten a couple, “You’re not […]

What Not To Do When Dating An Artist:

November 27, 2015 in Behind The Curtain by Elisha