Ellen Buselli

Ellen Buselli is a still life painter who takes inspiration from traditional still life painters from several eras, citing as her influences painters like Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Henri Fantin la Tour, John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, Emil Carlsen, Giorgio Morandi and the Dutch master painters.

Buselli chooses her subjects with great care, setting up the compositions with her own collection of pueblo pottery, Roman glass and American Arts and Crafts movement pottery. Despite the refinement evident in her finished works, she works directly, without preliminary sketches or value studies. She works with a carefully controlled palette, giving particular emphasis to establishing the right background against which to array the colors, values and edges of her subjects.

Unfortunately, the images on her web site are frustratingly small, giving little feeling for the surface qualities or brush handling in her work. You will find a few larger images in some of the additional resources I’ve listed below.

Buselli was the subject of a cover article in the January 2008 issue of American Artist, for which there is an accompanying gallery on the magazine’s site. There is also an article reprinted form the November, 2007 issue, in which there is a description of her working methods.

The Art Renewal Center names Buselli as Semi-Finalist in the 2008/2009 ARC SALON

Buselli featured in January 2008 American Artist cover article

American Artist January 2008 features article “Ellen Buselli: Observing Carefully, Thinking Abstractly, and Painting Traditionally” along with Buselli’s “Classical Light” as cover (click on magazine to read article).

“Painting is all about observation...” — Ellen Buselli

American Artist First Prize winner, Oil, 70th Anniversary Competition

“My procedure is traditional, and the painting develops by carefully observing how the light defines each object and the space around it, and then putting down the values and transitions of temperatures in color.” — Ellen Buselli

Buselli’s “Study in White” featured in American Artist’s December 2008 article “Morandi’s Influence on Contemporary Still Life Painters”

“...I am moved by the simplicity and purity of his (Morandi’s) paintings. He seemed to give humble inanimate objects a lifelike personality, and his compositions seem to have an almost monumental status, like architecture.”

“He welded together boundaries, and diffused edges. His economic use of color and values — and their transitions — unified objects as if they were one.” — Ellen Buselli

“Sunlit”— winner of The Artist’s Magazine first annual Cover Competition

“A great cover painting is not only a high-quality piece but one that truly sings. It must be arresting—able to grab your attention right away and be immediately recognizable as a terrific painting. Yet sublety is required, too; the painting must have enough complexity to keep you looking and reward your attention.”

“...Ellen Buselli’s ‘Sunlit’ came forward and took the prize. It’s a gorgeous piece—well-rendered and high impact, with rich, warm colors and an artful looseness to the brushstrokes upon close inspection.” — The Artist’s Magazine

“ I see in an abstract way when painting.” — Ellen Buselli

For New York City artist Ellen Buselli, painting is centered on translating what she sees to canvas, which is why she finds observing and understanding the nature of color and light so important.

by Linda S. Price

Classical Light 2007, oil on linen, 20 x 21. Private collection.  The corners of the background in this still life were lightly painted, allowing the toned background to show through to create a sense of wear and timelessness.	Garlic and Parmesan 2007, oil, 9 x 12. Courtesy Cheryl Newby Gallery, Pawleys Island, South Carolina.   These still life items were dinner ingredients before the artist realized their potential and set them up in her studio. Her concept was one of harmony, a study in browns and off-whites.

Painting is all about observation, ” says still life painter Ellen Buselli. “The process involves thinking abstractly—even if you’re painting traditionally—not looking at the objects themselves but observing how light, atmosphere, value, color, edges, and temperature work together to give an object its form. If you’re thoughtful about all of the above, a painting will emerge, and a two-dimensional surface will become three dimensional.” Buselli always observes—and paints—from life in her studio, admitting that light is one of the most important elements of her still life setups. “I paint under natural, north light, ” she says. “It’s a cooler, indirect light, and shadows remain the same value and in the same position all day.”

Although she arranges her setup with care, Buselli prefers to plunge right into her painting without thumbnail sketches or value studies. She prepares her canvases by toning them with a warm mixture of burnt umber or burnt sienna and ultramarine blue because she feels this combination is easy on the eyes. After the toned canvas is dry, she roughs in the outline of her still life setup using an umber and establishes an initial horizon line and relative positions of the elements—which may change as she gets further along in her painting. The next step involves massing in the major dark and light shapes, which sets up the two extremes of values against which to measure all other brushstrokes. From this point on, Buselli paints directly, establishing the right color, value, and temperature immediately. “Every new brushstroke depends on the previous one, ” she explains. “I ask myself, ‘Is it lighter or darker, warmer or cooler than what I already put down?’”

Hydrangeas, Pears, and Grapes 2006, oil on linen, 16 x 15. Courtesy Gardner Colby Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The secret to painting such complex flowers is spontaneous brushstrokes and few details. Careful observation shows that stems appear lighter and brighter when seen through water.

Hyacinth (and the McCoy Pot) 2006, oil on linen, 12 x 16. Private collection. Cast shadows coming forward, as well as strong light emanating from the leaves and inner space of the flowers, create depth and drama. Objects up close reach out to the viewer’s space and give the subject matter a strong presence. This painting won first place in the oil category of American Artist’s 70th Anniversary Competition, featured in the December 2007 issue.

Buselli gives a lot of thought to her background because she knows how strongly it affects the overall painting. “It must be the right value initially, otherwise I can’t work on the rest of the painting, ” she emphasizes. The artist considers, for instance, that a translucent background recedes and lends a sense of depth, as does a neutral color. When she wants backgrounds to look old and textured, as in Old Master paintings, she prepares archaic-looking boards that have “that old fresco decay of Rome” to place behind her objects. Alternatively, she uses drapery to achieve the right color, value, and texture. The artist also has a collection of platforms—light or dark, smooth or textured, stained or painted—on which to stage her still lifes.

Of equal concern to Buselli are the objects themselves, especially the vases and pottery she collects on her travels, in antique shops, or at garage sales. She especially enjoys painting her collection of black Pueblo pottery, in part because of its dull shine that both reflects and absorbs light. If she wants a painting with drama, she chooses contrasting objects. If her goal is harmony, she selects objects within a common color family and emphasizes shifts in value and temperature, as she did with the earth tones of Garlic and Parmesan. When choosing flowers for her signature floral still lifes, Buselli opts for those that are in season, preferring hyacinths in the spring and peonies in June.  “Sunflowers are also wonderful, ” she says, “and any kind of lily—their shapes are so geometric. I enjoy the large masses of hydrangeas as well, but you have to be careful not to put in a lot of details.” She’s partial to pale pink roses and their wonderful translucent petals.

When painting flowers, Buselli works quickly and spontaneously with thin paint, trying to capture them before they fade and allowing the wet paint to connect them. In opaque areas—where the light is directly hitting the objects and bouncing off—she gradually applies thicker paint but is careful not to overwork any area. She works wet-in-wet, dragging her brush to create color unity from one area of the canvas to another. Her goal is to keep reworking to a minimum, so as to retain the spontaneity of her original brushwork. Sometimes she sculpts the flowers out of the background, relying on the negative spaces to create the form of the bouquet. Dark-green foliage provides a base for the flowers to rest on and gives them weight and a sense of place in much the way cast shadows do for her pottery and glassware.

The Green Pear 2007, oil on linen, 10 x 8. Collection the artist. A study of an individual object can make that object appear mysterious and can also give it a sense of personality.	The Copper Pot With Eggs and Fruit 2007, oil on linen, 10 x 14. Private collection. The artist loves the highly reflective quality of copper and chose bright objects to balance the intensity of the metal. The reflections of the colorful fruit and white eggs converge in the copper surface, uniting the light.

Buselli also gives a lot of thought to composition and the arrangement of her still life items. “The placement of objects affects how viewers relate to the painting, ” she says. “Objects closer to the front edge reach into the viewer’s space, creating intimacy and almost a surreal feeling. When the main flower in a composition faces forward it can actually appear animated. Elements positioned farther away produce more atmosphere because there’s more quiet space and a sense of serenity and mystery. Sometimes I use both techniques in the same painting, positioning something close to the front edge to grab the viewer’s attention, and then leading him or her back into the painting.”

Details, the artist notes, should be used sparingly to define an object and should be concentrated in areas where the viewer is suppose to focus. It’s the same with sharp edges: they shouldn’t be everywhere, just where the eye should pause—such as the edge of a flower. The most intense color should be reserved for those areas meant to appear closer to the viewer, as should the areas of thickest paint. By using only one colorful or bright object in a setup, Buselli makes sure the eye will stop there. In complex setups she’s careful to position the lights to lead the eye through the picture.

Buselli finds inspiration in the work of many artists of the past: Henri Fantin-Latour for the sheer beauty of his floral paintings; Emil Carlsen for his magical space; Chardin for his strong yet simple still life compositions; Walter Murch for the way his isolated elements emerge from the light; Giorgio Morandi for his pure, simple collective masses; and John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase for their spontaneity and wonderful brushstrokes. She advises students to look at the work of other artists, determine what it is about their work that attracts them, and then try to figure out exactly how they achieved that quality. That’s what Buselli does, with every new discovery and painting leading to another adventure in observing and seeing.

Freesias, Plums, and Oranges 2007, oil on linen, 16 x 15. Private collection.

About the Artist

Ellen Buselli received her B.F.A. from Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, and also studied at the Tyler School of Art, in Rome, where she got to see firsthand the work of the Old Masters she loved. Studying with David A. Leffel at the Art Students League of New York, in Manhattan, however, proved most instrumental in preparing her for the style in which she would eventually paint. For much for her life, the artist worked as a design manager and only began painting full time two years ago. Buselli is a signature member of Oil Painters of America and has won their Best Still Life award as well as the Winsor & Newton Award of Excellence and the Silver Brush Award. She is also a signature member of American Women Artists, and has won their Best in Show award. Other awards Buselli has received include those from Allied Artists of America, The American Artists Professional League, and Knickerbocker Artists. She is currently represented by Cheryl Newby Gallery, on Pawley’s Island, South Carolina; Addison Gallery, in Boca Raton, Florida; and Gardner Colby Gallery, on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The artist maintains a studio in New York City. For more information on Buselli, visit her website at www.ellenbuselli.com.

Linda S. Price is an artist, writer, and editor living on Long Island, New York.

View a gallery of Buselli's work.

 Painter Ellen Buselli's favorite subject-- still life-- has evolved since she moved to New York City after college. After doing a series of still-life paintings called "Tools of the Trade", she exhibited them at the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island. New York Newsday stated that the paintings "seem to borrow something from the Italian painter Georgio Morandi in the way in which they take familiar objects and impart a sort of metaphysical presence."

Her paintings have an archaic quality indicating her love of antiquity and echoes of times past. "I try to create a sense of timelessness in my paintings. Each painting is a safe haven of quiet study."

Throughout her New York experience, Buselli has channeled her love of the Dutch Masters, Chardin, Fantin La Tour, Emil Carlsen, Sargent, and Morandi into moody oils that emulate their sense of chiaroscuro and classical painting. Her childhood propensity for sketching and perspective eventually culminated in a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cornell University plus study at the Tyler School of Art in Rome, Italy and the Art Students League in New York.

The artist, who uses her personal collection of Persian vases, old Roman glass, pottery from the American Arts & Crafts Movement and other artifacts for subject matter, works from a Manhattan studio with northern exposure that she prefers for its constant soft and moody light. She has collected recognition for her work from the American Artist Magazine, National Academy of Design, Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, Allied Artists of America, the Salmagundi Club, The American Artists Professional League, The Ridgewood Art Institute and The Artist's Magazine.