New York artist Scott Daniel Ellison loves the raw power of storytelling and inspired by cultural folklore.
Scott Daniel Ellison paints on wood, layers dense pigment, and removes unneeded clutter away from his mythological characters, (his approach to brut narrative). Scott’s work is authentically raw and Outsider-artist inspired, "You know the self-taught artist types who are rarely captured within the pages of art history?" Instead, Scott applies a more humanistic approach for his brand of self-taught image-making idealism.
Scott Daniel Ellison and I are working on a book to celebrate his visual sensibilities and excited to share the following interview:
mark murphy : What type of mythology are you exploring in your work?
Scott Daniel Ellison : I’ve always been interested in American folklore and mythology since early childhood. I especially have an interest in woodland mythology and early American myths and folklore.
I’ve been reading a lot lately, about the Salem Witch Trials (above), and about the Native American spirit called Wendigo, (or Windigo—a Cree Indian word that means, “the evil that devours.” A half-human turned cannibal).
mark murphy : What type of artists from the past inspire you?
Scott Daniel Ellison : Lately I've been looking at a lot of Forrest Bess (featured top) and Henri Rousseau (featured above).
mark murphy : How would you describe your genre of narrative painting?
Scott Daniel Ellison : My paintings seem to contain some sort of narrative I would suppose…but, at the same time, I try to leave it open… I like figurative painting, early animation and art brut(Originally defined by Jean Dubuffet and featured above).
I work in oil and acrylic, so technically I’m a painter, but often think of myself as a storyteller who just happens to work with paint as the medium of choice. The stories within the work have no beginning or end, so you just kind of stumble upon them somewhere in between.
Scott Daniel Ellison is currently completing a new body of work for an upcoming exhibition. Visit his website here, check him out on Artsy and read more: Artist Scott Daniel Ellison. (Scott Daniel Ellison, Monster Masks, (pictured on right is available), 14 x 11 inches, etching edition 50, 2015, please contact me for additional information).
(All artwork presented remains the sole right of Scott Daniel Ellison. All artwork ©Scott Daniel Ellison unless indicated, 2015).