Location: 35th Ave So and 36th St.
Something wonderful about my little neighborhood and Longfellow, is the wide assortment of artists! Musicians, actors, painters, potters, you name it. Longfellow supports our artists and provides outlets to encourage the arts. Longfellow Community Council has an annual art crawl called League of Longfellow Artist, also known as:
LoLa (the biggest little neighborhood art crawl in Minneapolis!).
Meet Ellen Larsen. I got to know Ellen through LoLa. I began buying her art a few years ago. She has a delicious approach to her art. You may see a stapler but she sees an old Studebaker in it, or she may see a woman-soldier and see a black bird holding a gun. I found that her approach to her pieces and unwillingness to ‘stay in the lines’ is what I enjoy the most. An example was a painting of white cats shadowed with powder blue instead of the usual grey and black for shadows. She paints on more than just canvasses — it could be random wood she found or tiles. She uses a background of black and then fills in with color, leaving thick, bold outlines; she paints Dorothy Parker with a pale blue face, and dark blue hair and yet you know it’s Dorothy!
Meanwhile, she’s a full time college student, loves her dog Jewel and happily dog sits for friends. She’s been in the neighborhood for years and years and lives with her longtime partner, John.
Look her up. He site is called, Ellen Does Art
http://doartlarsen.blogspot.com/
Or watch for her at the next LoLa!
Photo: Jean Des Marais