Statues of Liberty

Who doesn’t love a good portrait? The Two Fridas. Warhol’s Marilyn series. Jennifer Aniston’s nude GQ cover. Tempe artist Clay Elliott specialized in portraits until a few years ago, when a European vacation shifted his focus away from flesh. “I was attracted to the monuments and statues of Spain,” he...

By Wynter Holden

December 25, 2008

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Who doesn’t love a good portrait? The Two Fridas. Warhol’s Marilyn series. Jennifer Aniston’s nude GQ cover.

Tempe artist Clay Elliott specialized in portraits until a few years ago, when a European vacation shifted his focus away from flesh. “I was attracted to the monuments and statues of Spain,” he says. “That’s what grabbed me the most.” Using Photoshop, Elliott created a color map of his photos, transferred them to canvas, and applied layers of brightly colored acrylic paint — basically, an adult version of paint-by-numbers. So what became of the portraits? Some are in the exhibit. Those he didn’t want were donated to charity. “I have some pieces that I love when I’m first done,” explains Elliott, “but in time, that obsession fades.”

Wednesdays-Sundays; Dec. 26-28. Starts: Dec. 3. Continues through Dec. 23, 2008

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