Studies of light, memory & atmosphere
Original Paintings by Elaine Purcell
CHOOSE YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY
ORIGINAL
Contemporary paintings of people, place, light and reflection.
PEOPLE AND PORTRAIT STUDIO
Monthly online lessons, inspiration and support for portrait figure painters.
ART CLASSES
In-person adult art classes in for beginners and experienced painters.
My art has come on in leaps and bounds under Elaine’s tuition.
Vikki
WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT ELAINE’S CLASS
What a fantastic day! Many thanks to Elaine for her patience and good humour
Natalie
Brilliant lesson, great techniques and amazing art teacher with bags of personality!
Rachael
Hi I’m Elaine Purcell..
My work explores the quiet tension between memory and identity—what we carry forward, and what we struggle to release. Through layered surfaces, fragmented imagery, and partially obscured figures, I examine how past experiences continue to shape the present, even when they no longer serve us.
The figures in my paintings often exist in states of introspection, neither fully defined nor entirely dissolved. Textures, numbers, and visual remnants act as traces of lived experience-echoes of personal and collective histories that cling, fade, and resurface.
I am particularly interested in the balance between holding on and letting go. By building up and erasing layers, I create a visual language that reflects this process-where clarity and disruption coexist. The work invites the viewer to consider their own internal landscapes, and the stories they continue to carry.