Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elyssa Edgerly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Elyssa, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In 2022, I was asked to be one of three female artists to design and paint a mural covering all four walls of a prominent room in a local non-profit’s new building. The space is a thriving community hub and serves as a gathering place for diversity, learning, growth, collaboration, and freedom of expression. As one of the artists tasked with enlivening the building, I felt like we were creating history… creating the artwork that will support a thriving space of expansion and community vitality. Collaborating with two other female artists, Willow Windgood and Jessica Bynum, was an incredible experience. This was the first mural any of us had ever painted. We dove into the design process together, painting the 25ft tall walls with gigantic medicinal and native plants. Huge poppies, echinacea, St. John’s wort, dandelions, monkshood, calendula, comfrey, and dangling tomatillos. We spent many weeks painting on ladders and scaffolding and succeeded in bringing our vision all the way through to completion. Being in the room now is magical…you feel as if you are a small ladybug amongst these giant colorful flowers. The community has been buzzing about it ever since. We added magic to our town and the gratitude coming from the community has been fulfilling and potent. When a project turns out better than you could have anticipated and brings joy to many people…it feels meaningful and reinvigorates my life and purpose as an artist.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My creativity began to bloom after a 7-month trip through Southeast Asia in 2013. What I envisioned as a surfing and rock climbing trip, was actually a deep dive into the magic of the creative communities in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. The trip awakened my own creative force. I was in awe of the dedication to creative expression that I witnessed and it pushed me to embrace creativity in a new way, changing my life forever. I left Indonesia and settled into a new home in Byron Bay, Australia. A home with expansive white walls. The juxtaposition between the colorful travels I had just enjoyed and the empty walls of my new home, inspired me to bring more color into my world. I made friends with a local art shop owner and acquired a painting setup. Each night after finishing my job as an aerial acrobatics coach, I would experiment in my living room with canvas and paint. Eventually the house filled with colorful canvases that I had created. Ten years later and I now live as a full time artist! After I moved back to the US, I sought out mentors who taught me the tools and techniques I needed to grow. I am now a professional mixed media oil painter and muralist living in a small, artistic mountain town in Colorado.
As an artist, I am most proud of my collaboration with nature. I collect natural objects from my travels around the globe that I incorporate into my paintings. Using my collection, I’m able to infuse the vibrant energy of the wilderness into my work. After I create an initial underpainting, I use these dried plants, shells, or other objects to create a mask on the painting which leaves the most beautiful patterns and forms. I love using my shells from New Zealand, gum leaves and dried coral fans from Australia, plants from the Hawaiian islands, flowers from the Rocky Mountains, leaves from Baja. I ethically wild-harvest plants from remote, peaceful, awe-inspiring places… stream banks, mountaintops, lush forests, even my own garden. Treasures washed up from the sea or blown in on a breeze. The energy that these natural forms bring to my art imbues them with a feeling of growth, a feeling of freedom, and a feeling of expansion.
I am currently experimenting with using real butterfly wings on the canvas. I’m excited for my collection of found wings from around the world to find their way onto my canvases and then into the homes of collectors! I’m also currently working on two powerful commissions simultaneously. One is honoring the passing of a loved one, the other is a painting celebrating the union of two newlyweds. It’s incredible how this art career touches every poignant aspect of the life experience and lets me surround it with honor, beauty and vibrance.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is bringing hope and inspiration to people. Showcasing a sentiment or emotion that will move people in an uplifting direction feels significant. The feeling when my art makes someone smile, or be moved to tears. Just seeing their energy brighten or soften or expand. Providing collectors with creations that touch on their life and profoundly move them, keeps me at the easel.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Yessss! At its simplest…I intend for my creative offerings to inspire vibrant, intentional living. I create art to inspire you to cultivate a bright, bold, bountiful existence. Art that motivates you to cultivate a rich essence in your life. This goal is amplified now after having my first baby a year ago. Time is flying and each moment is precious. All we have is the now. This moment. This breath. My mission is to help people dig deeper and find inspiration dancing all around them. Our communities and the earth around us are sooo full of meaningful and bright energy. Our vitality and life force are directly tied to the earth, natural processes, and to the connections we have within community. Portraying these connections inspires me to paint! The world has so much intensity, stress, trauma, and heartache. Art can bring freedom and snap you into the present moment. I hope that my art can be a reminder of the beauty, vibrance, and effervescence of life. I will keep creating and sharing as I aim to inspire a deep appreciation for the wild ride of life in pursuit of passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: elyssaedgerly.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elyssa_edgerly/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elyssaedgerlyfineart