Elliot R. Killian
Bio
The Past
I began painting in oil at a very young age, encouraged by my father who was also a painter. He fostered my interest with painting classes at the local art and cultural center and with a private tutor. When my parents divorced, painting was put on hold. However, my mother and I spent a year living in Europe, and I was fortunate to be able to spend much of that time visiting museums and historic sites, leaving an indelible mark on my artistic journey.
In high school my love of painting was rekindled—the school was fortunate to have a robust art department with many offerings. However, once in college, a rather lack-luster painting course and a growing desire to be self-sufficient caused me to redirect my attention toward graphic design and eventually computer animation. After I received my Master of Fine Arts from Florida Atlantic University, I dedicated the next several decades to working as a freelance graphic designer, computer animator, and educator. Teaching afforded my a steady income to compensate for the feast or famine aspects of freelancing and there is an unparalleled joy to be had when working with developing artists and department colleagues.
The Transition
At a pivotal juncture, a confluence of factors, including a pandemic, the volatility of US politics, and growing dissatisfaction with job responsibilities that fell outside of teaching, compelled me to make a substantial decision. With my husband’s encouragement and support, which provided a steadfast anchor during these tumultuous times, I resigned from my previous position and embarked on a new journey as a full-time painter, resolute in pursuing abstractionism. Consequently, I found myself simultaneously an experienced visual artist and a relatively new abstract painter, as I returned to my artistic roots and reveled in the rediscovery of my passion for oil painting.
Where I had once struggled with the implantation of abstraction in my work, I suddenly experienced a surge of newfound energy and an intense desire to master painting in the abstract. My researching skills were put to new use and my design abilities began to serve me in novel ways. Moreover, I felt an overwhelming sense that I had not been adequately prepared to embark on the journey to becoming a serious painter until this precise moment.
Statement
In my work I strive to expand visual communication by provoking the viewer’s subconscious through immersive imagery and the utilization of color to elicit emotional responses.
My primary influences include my father, whose artistic style seemed to vacillate between surrealism and impressionism. Additionally, Andrea Wedell’s lyrical compositions and sublime mastery of color have had a profound impact on my artistic development. Furthermore, nature and its phenomena have always been of significant interest to me–My enthusiastic gardening undoubtedly influences my art, as do the changing seasons.
While I generally prefer abstract art, representational imagery occasionally appears. When these elements intrude, I permit myself to explore them, primarily as a means of purging them from my artistic processes. The exception to this would be my ongoing botanical series. I will intentionally seek to work on botanical and floral themes when I want to keep painting but need a break from an emotionally charged piece or if I need to step away from a piece in order to gain a fresh perspective.
My preferred technique involves the additive and subtractive layering of oil paint and cold wax, employing a diverse range of mark-making strategies. This approach enables me to construct both an immersive environment and create a visual narrative. Exploring color and color relationships has also become an integral aspect of my artistic process.
The process by which what is revealed and what is concealed holds a profound fascination for me. Drawing upon my exposure to surrealist theory, I have embraced automatic painting—a trance-like state that I enter as I add, blend, and remove layers, my hand attuned to the drag of the tools through the paint, attention simultaneously detached and laser-focused on the process. I slip in and out of this state, stepping back to break the trance while I analyze, edit, and regroup. Then, stepping forward, to lose myself to the meditative state again. This push and pull, lull and frenzy, leave their marks on my panels, and there is nothing more exhilarating than anticipating what, in my animal subconscious, will guide my hand.
Through my paintings, I endeavor to evoke a meditative experience for viewers, filled with the spirit of the state in which they were created—energy and emotion, captured in paint and shared.
Resume
2004 | Nominee | International Media Art Award | broadcast on Swiss television
2002 | Best of Show – Animation/Special Effects | And 4 other Addy Awards | 4-person team
2002 | Best Animated Short | The National CINE 42nd Annual Awards | student/group
2000 | Best Animated Short | Florida’s Independents’ Film and Video Festival | student/group
Education
Master of Fine Arts in Computer Arts, Cum Laude | Florida Atlantic University | 2001
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design | Florida Atlantic University | 1999
Current Series:
And My Father Before Me
In this series I explore my father’s influence on my work,
through a variety of conscious and subconscious exercises.
2025 Botanicals
In this series I continue my ongoing exploration of incorporating botanical elements in my work.
