Elaine Holien
oil and watercolor
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505.820.0807 call or text • art@owencontemporary.com
Elaine Holien Biography
Elaine Holien Plein Air painting
Elaine Holien first came to Taos in the summer of 1967 to study anthropology at the D.H. Lawrence Field School. She met her future husband on this initial trip, returned to New York to finish her studies, then finally returned to New Mexico to marry Tom Holien. Her first job was documenting the Kachina collection in watercolor renderings at the Wheelwright Museum. Through the years Elaine’s work has evolved, but always painting the landscape.
Her paintings are vibrant in color and focus on simplifying the landscape. She selects elements that depict the essence of a place. “Regarding the landscape, the patterns and colors interest me the most. I am drawn to the yellow trees against the reddish, pinkish earth, or patterns of green pinions against the red earth.” A painter in New Mexico for 35 years, Elaine Holien is one of New Mexico’s premier landscape painters. One of her favorite locations to paint is the region of Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu. “New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places. Everywhere you look is a painting.”
Artist Statement
I document the essence of the landscape everyday. I am interested in those untouched views of our landscape - the best parts of why we all come to New Mexico: the light, the color, the clouds, and the beauty of the high desert landscape.
The Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch areas of Northern New Mexico give me such peace and joy. The landscape of the region and its beauty flows with inspiration. These are places where the land has been patterned by the plow and the fields and orchards form geometric shapes. Blossoms, leaves and fruit add special brilliant colors to the already bright landscape. These cultivated valleys contrast with the wild serendipitous look of the surrounding pinon-studded hills. The winding river is the thread that ties the towns together. I began painting the New Mexico landscape 38 years ago while spending a semester at the D. H. Lawrence Field School in Taos as a young archeology student from Queens College. I always take my paintbrush and watercolors wherever I go, documenting my travels through brushstrokes.
Born: Flushing Meadows, New York
Education:
Queens College, CUNY, BA 1968
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Santa Fe Institute of Fine Arts, Santa Fe: Instructors: Nathan Oliveira, Larry Bell