I am Eleanor Anne.
I am an abstract artist living in Yorkshire.

I have created art my whole life, since I was a little girl. But my experiences in life lead me to a career in the helping profession, which I hold very dear to my heart. I have learnt so much about human psychology, family systems and the experiences of children and young people whilst working within communities. I have set out to support others to make a better life for themselves and their children. I was able at times to use art to help others make sense of things and to give them a voice.

But being creative remained a thread throughout my personal life and I continued to hide away in my space in my spare time, painting and scribbling in my art journals.

In recent years, I have expanded outside of sketchbooks and art journals into more ‘finished’ work on canvas and wood panels and I finally feel ready to share them with you!

The why.
Art making has been imperative for healing from my past and understanding who I was.

Whilst art making was a constant in my childhood, since early adulthood I have achieved a greater understanding of its impact and the reason why it has helped me so much.

As a child growing up in a dysfunctional home, I did not know how my mind and body were supposed to act or feel like. My nervous system has been in fight or flight for as long as I can remember.

With art, it did not matter what was happening around me. I became engulfed in creating and it distracted from the outside world. Using rocks to scratch scenes on concrete or making harsh scribbles with dull pencils on a ripped up page; it connected me to a part of myself that received no judgement or stress.

I was once told that picking up an instrument can help with calming racing thoughts and even pain management because you are totally incapable of overthinking whilst trying to play a song. Art was this for me - helping me make sense of my experience which created this beautiful relationship with my ongoing practice.

The inner angst I felt towards my experiences at home developed into my adolescent and early adulthood years. Denial, blame and fear enveloped my existence and I used art to make sense of what I was feeling. I scribbled in journals, used my non-dominant hand to connect with my inner child, I spilt water on the pages to let the ink bleed, I screwed pieces of paper and stuck them back in. I now reflect that this was a way to externalise my inner world and wishing for connection.

The work I do now reflects those natural ways that I have always played with materials. I have built on those grounding techniques, but I do attempt to be more sophisticated in my applications to be able to tell a clearer narrative or story.

Most recently, abstract expressionism and mixed media work has been the most invaluable. I have become my most defined self with its help.

I use collage to build layers, creating a way of expressing the complexity of human nature. I usually begin my work with line through rough and expressive scribbles and drawings. This cathartic practice allows me to connect with my inner child and understand her voice. I build upon this work with layers of acrylic paint which often represents significant emotions, or voices, or to show the layers of generations before us. I use colour and contrast to build tension, areas of calm and to highlight the important feelings in the painting. I scratch into the paint with tools, I use my hands to feel the paint and I simply play.

The process of child-like play is significant to me, and the outcome is somewhat secondary. However, I have taken more time to think about how to make my externalised inner world digestible with more precise and considered ways to finish a painting. To share a clearer story to you, the viewer and importantly, to myself.

My work regularly explores the traits that “Adult Children” (“someone whose actions and decisions as an adult are guided by childhood experiences grounded in self-doubt or fear”, ACA 2024) can struggle with, including stuffing our feelings, abandonment, shame, approval seeking and judgement of ourselves. However, it has also explored my incredible growth, and the lightness I feel when I am surrounded by the things I love and feel safest with.

Art is now more than mindful to me.

It allows me to tell my unique story, and continue to become my most defined self.

The practice itself is choosing myself before anything else, because I deserve to be the greatest version of myself.

I now wish to share my practice and paintings with you, in the hopes that the paintings themselves resonate & that my art practice journey may encourage you to explore who you are as I have and will continue to do so.

We all deserve it.

I hope you enjoy my work and thank you for being here.

I cannot wait to hear from you.