Ellen Rice's Studio Tour Nov. 23 and 24 to introduce two major paintings
More than two years, thousands of brushstrokes and over 100 glazes went into the making of "The Fisherman," one of two major paintings and a grouping of smaller oils by Ellen Rice that debut at the Ellen Rice Gallery in Ocean View on Thanksgiving weekend as part of her annual studio tour open house.
"Paths," the other major painting making its debut Friday, Nov. 23, offers an insight into making life choices. It is the fifth painting in Rice's ongoing Strength of Woman series.
Both paintings will be released in print during Rice's part of the free, self-guided, 12-artist, 18th annual Southeastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23 and 24.
In "The Fisherman," which depicts the north jetty at Indian River Inlet at sunrise, Rice said her endeavor was to capture a sense of timelessness.
"This painting could be today. It could 2,000 years ago. As I was painting, I was reliving the moment and thinking that at another moment in time a couple thousand years ago Jesus could have stood on a shore looking at a sunrise over water much like this. I wanted to get a sense of that timelessness in this work and I worked on it until I could feel that."
Rice describes "Paths" as a departure from her more representational work. "It's a vision that came to me as a complete image in prayer and meditation, the way the four preceding paintings in the Strength of Woman series presented themselves."
A Thanksgiving gift of $20 off each of these signed, numbered prints is being offered by Rice during the tour through Sunday, Dec. 2, she said, as an expression of gratitude to God for her skills, the ideas that come to her and the customers who have created her success.
Rice's gallery will be filled with the sounds, smells and tastes of the season as well as the first paintings in a 50-painting series of small oils Rice is creating to commemorate her 50-year anniversary of painting the Delaware shore.
The Ellen Rice Gallery, a national NICHE Top Retailer Award finalist, is 2.2 miles west of the Bethany Beach totem pole at 103 Atlantic Ave. (Route 26), Ocean View. For more information, call the gallery at 302-539-3405 or toll-free 1-888-ELL-RICE (355-7423), or visit www.ellenrice.com
