A new series, “Blood And Vapor”.
Who lingers within you? Have you ever felt an ancestral presence? The inescapable tie of family:hundreds of individuals, yesterday and today, here and gone. A powerful resonance or inconspicuous vapor?
I’ll be wrestling with a visual expression, with varied materials and modes of expression to come close to addressing these questions.
I’m experimenting wildly so many of the pieces I’ve made thus far don’t really “work”. Some approach the mark for me, and others are quite disappointing. I’ll be sharing them all with you as I explore.
This piece is watercolor, 22″x30″, with a burnt sienna oil glaze in selected portions.
Elenacaravela's Blog 
Like this piece and I like the concept. Look forward to seeing how this progresses!
Thanks!
Awesome, Elena!!!!!!
I love how dark and ghostly this is.
Thanks Crystal!
You artfully convey all of the solitude and restlessness that those feelings can evoke.
Sometimes past becomes a painful present.
Sometimes it does. Thank you Marcelo.
I absolutely love this piece, definitely one of favorites. Haunting and yet beautiful. Fantastic work!
Thanks so much Kellie!
There is so so so much I love about this…the colors especially and the theme? Oh my…I’m going to be eagerly awaiting for MORE!!!
Thanks much Robin!
A most excellent use of light and color. I am blown away and enjoy your work with pleasure. Thanks so much for sharing!
Have a nice day
Roland
Thank you very much:)
Wow, so powerful. Very curious to know what inspires your paintings xo
Thanks Leanova. To sum it up briefly, life. Where I am in it, what’s going on in it, and a need to both rejoice and figure out some of the challenges and mysteries as best I can.
It’s great, thanks for sharing them with us 🙂
i am very much looking forward to following this!
Thanks Janna!
A great start Elena.. I am looking forward to this series immensely!
It’s a tough one Helen. Thanks.
Very interesting composition… And hues! Look forward!
THanks very much!
awesome Elena! can’t wait to see what else you create in this series
Thank you!
Interesting subject for a series and great suitable palette colours looking forward for more.
I really like this image. And I’m also very excited to see the other pieces. Such a great idea for a series.
Glad you think so Richard! Thank you.
I’m very excited to see more 🙂
Thanks Allyson!
Beautiful, moody and slightly ominous! 😉
I love it, Elena.
Yes, some will be a bit creepy:) Thank you!
Beautifully muted emerging figures Elena . I love the way the figures are connected by just the merest whisper of touch.
Your new series sounds intruiging to say the least- I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it evolves 🙂
Thanks so much Poppy!
Beautiful work. It is a very promising start. May I suggest also to look in the opposite direction? I mean: in one way or another we all frequently ask ourselves about those that came down the line before us, and somehow feel their presence/influence on our lives. But what about those that will come in the distant future, that we will never get to know, but who will nevertheless be beads in the same string in which we are tied? We will one day be the ghosts whose presence they will feel. We bear a strong responsibility in this, but can we sense it in the same way as we feel the weight of the past?
An excellent suggestion Eduardo! I will certainly ponder this seriously. Thank you!
A very interesting concept, Elena and I loved the first piece of the series. Looking forward too see how it comes along from here:)
Thanks very much Uday!
Oh very, very interesting concept and question!!! Love the first painting…shows the question wonderfully!
Can’t wait to see the rest 🙂
Thank you Shree!
loving where this is going and cannot wait to see more 🙂
Thanks Veronica. We shall see…:)
I love it. The burnt sienna gives it a sort of haunting feel and I really love the idea that you are exploring, can’t wait to see what your exploration brings next! I really love the feel of the whole piece. Oh, and thank you so very much for your generous compliment on my last piece.
You are welcome! It will be a journey with this project for sure. Thanks so much for interest and support:)
Wow! (First, I had a nice laugh, because the first thing I thought was “ombré “, and the reason I even know that word is because I watch Project Runway. Haha.) Anyway, I just love that unevenly graduated effect of the shadows. It is magical!
:0 I watch Project Runway too:) Thanks Cindy!
I like it!(^^)
Thank you!
Hauntingly beautiful. The powerful matriarch leading the way? The one near the end looking back to see who is yet to come? Or perhaps making sure no men are trying to follow…:)
Men are welcome:) Just not in this particular piece. They’ll show up soon;) Thank you James.
A very good idea, and well done.
Thank you Daisy!
I like this, Elena, a definite feeling of the passing of time, and an ancient feel with it as well. Can’t wait to see more.
THanks for your confidence Tom, and your lovely comment:)
Impressive painting, excellent artwork Elena, congratulations!!
Thank you Belen!
This is exciting stuff! A beautiful start with these ghosts and spirits.
I’m looking forward to every bit of it. : )
Thanks Karen:)
You might allow two thoughts about this, as I’ve been thinking along similar lines in a sermon I made some time ago. So it’s bound to be related to religion, although it is a general human topic at the same time…
Here we go:
One. A friend of mine told me. “They left you here from the last century.” Then, correcting himself: “No, it was the one before the last and still – it they put you down anywhere, you seem like you’re at home. You’re an universal cosmopolitan.” (I thought, this was too flattering and obviously a bit over the top, but it got me thinking…)
Two. Something makes me feel like it’s true. As if I had the memories of past generations in my bones. Was it C.G. Jung, who called it the “Kollektive Unbewußte”? Anyway, each time I stand in a church praying a certain psalm (it is Psalm 90), I feel like they are all standing behind me. The women of the past generations. As my mother ist still under the living, it’s just like your picture – the two of us, then grandmother, her mother and so on… praying: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations…”
Thank you for your very thoughtful comment. While it is not my intention to bring religion into my exploration, I can appreciate what you are saying and how it certainly does relate to the visualization of my journey. Jung’s archetypes and the concept of “past generations in my bones” is intriguing to me, and is in fact, one important aspect in my consideration of this (to me), fascinating topic.
Yes, we talked about this the other day with someone mourning over her grandmother: I am sure about this “taking someone with you in your bones” – if you like the phrase. It is simply a question of love really, it’s about this special bond between the generations.
I like it, too. I guess the palette is perfect for this type of painting: monochromatic and it gives an “old” feeling.
Yes, so far I’ve kept the palette darker, in most of these. Thanks Nuno!
Another promising series by you. Haunting yet …warm [make sense?]
Beautifully shown, Elena.
🙂
Have a wonderful week.
I know just what you mean. Thank you Marina:) You have a great week as well:)
I like this one, the return, backwards to dust. The rather silly–I think, idea, that we (the we we are now) are somehow better, first, and the brightest of lights.
I love your interpretation Elisa. Thank you!
So deep in different emotions…You really are very talented 🙂
You are very kind. Thanks much:)
M m m m —- very interesting !
Thanks Yoshi!
Very beautiful picture, dear Elena! I like your choice to use warm colors of autumn! I look forward to your other works.
Thank you for sharing!
Have a wonderful day and a great week!
Big hugs, much love, Stefania! 🙂
You too Stefania! Thank you:)
You’ve captured the emotion!!
Thanks very much!
I like the choice of palette (quiet and evocative of sepia archive photos); the period costume; the composition (the grouping that draws the eye along the line); the gradual reduction in definition as characters fade further into the past; the overall feel and atmosphere. Despite the somewhat sinister title for the series I like this particular picture a lot.
No sinister intent in the title, just fact of blood, and vapor, a substance diffused or suspended in the air, a metaphor for passing, but with a resonance. Thanks Louis.
Can’t wait for the rest!!!
Thank you Maria!
Very nice…you’re off to a good start with this series.
Thank you Hansi.
Oh wow… a brilliant concept and beautifully captured. I’m excited about seeing where this goes.
It’s a real challenge for me. Thanks so much John.
Very much appreciated John.
That you take such a powerful resonance and give it form and feeling is overwhelming. And so beautiful!
Thanks so very much Patti!
Thank you Patti!
Very nice! Love how the flow.
Thank you!
Thank you Elena for new series~
Very calm atmosphere
Is really nice!
Thank you so very much:)
Thank you Mary. This series will be a little brooding, some images a bit disturbing. Not everyone’s cup of tea. Thank you so much for kind comment:)
Exciting series Elena and looking forward to seeing the other pieces you develop. I’m drawn to this particular scene – great use of details and edges, especially as I move to the background figures and see their features fade. Perfectly suited for the limited palette.