Paintings by Ellen Hosafros
When Conspiracy Theories Take Over
When half-truths and conspiracies slip into the mind and take root, real life morphs into the actual thing originally feared. All reason flies away as complacency (the dog with a bone, the squirrel eating money) disregards the consequences; as long as they have what they need, what's the problem, as freedoms fly away. The perpetrators of conspiracies, represented by the "grand dragon" who turns his back on everyone and the sentry cat that keeps guard over the new status quo, have what they want...a new society that bends to their whims. ...
Pareidolia: What the Mind Sees
Honorable Mention winner, Webber Gallery, Ocala, Florida. Bunnies and sailing ships in clouds, the face of Jesus on a grilled cheese sandwich, a menacing witch hiding in the knot of a tree trunk. “Pareidolia” is the definition for these phenomena and the title of my painting. Pareidolia is defined as a situation in which someone sees a pattern or image of something that does not exist. I see Pareidolia everywhere. I’ve buried at least 10 images in this painting, some are obvious while others are not. Can you find them all?...
Skel Gazelle Carousel
The dream was a mish mash of nonsense symbols: a solitary gazelle on a carousel ride, squids and jellyfish missing some of their parts, and melted crayon blobs. The gazelle's giant horns curved into infinity. Her tiny angel wings stirred the air, wafting up carnival scents: corndogs, cotton candy, sweaty people. I realized I was sitting astride the gazelle. I pressed my legs against her sides and caught my foot on her ribcage. She broke into a run. One hoof was 10 times the size of the other. "A hunting accident," she hollered, referring to the exposed ribs and giant hoof. “It’s not polit...
Eagle Watch at the Bird Bath
SOLD.
Spencer the cat and the birds in the tree above her cast wary eyes at the dark shadow circling above....
Tilt: Lies My Body Tells Me
Imagine living life as though the earth is tilting below your feet. That's vertigo....
Kevin Hears the Mother Ship
Featured at the MCA Brick Gallery's Dreamscapes Surrealism Exhibit, “Kevin Hears the Mother Ship” is a metaphor for humanity’s age-old quest to prove the existence of God. Using feline figures as stand-ins for humans, surrealist artist Ellen Hosafros explores her personal spiritual journey ranging from membership in traditional religion as a child to her current embrace of agnostic theism. In the painting, “Kevin” has the sudden realization that God is real but is conflicted as to what to do next…seek out the supreme being on his own? Go the route of religion? The painting illust...
Living Time Forward and Backward
Featured at the MCA Brick Gallery's Dreamscapes Surrealism Exhibit! Physicists postulate that time doesn’t fly—it just is. The crow laughs at the folly of the mourning dove who plucks the number 4 from the Time Machine to disrupt the universal clock. The joke’s on her; in some cultures, 4 relates to the ultimate time suck: death.
Swirling clock hands regurgitate past events that flow over a box of stored memories whose truths blur over time but retain the power to cause self-recrimination. Meanwhile, the industrious crow burns the candle at both ends; the rich and powerful matron become...
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
On display at MCA Brick Gallery, Ocala, Florida, Art in Health Exhibit, February 2025.
Health is at the center of life, and the heart is the body’s engine. Recently, in the midst of grocery shopping on an ordinary fall morning, my heart let me know I needed a tune-up. Since then I’ve become hyper-aware of my heart, the rhythm of its beats and the pattern of the pulse it drives. Therefore, the heart features prominently in this painting.
Question: How do you mend a broken heart?
Answers:
1. Be lucky enough to have access to exceptional healthcare.
2. Be lucky enough to afford health...
Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself...Please
SOLD! On display for the Storytelling Knights Exhibit at MCA's Brick Gallery, Ocala, Florida, during January 2025.
At first the spaceship landing on our lawn was scary, but then we met the owners of the craft, the DWTBKJ family. They’re from a planet called D-5 on the far end of the Milky Way. When they came down the steps of their spaceship my Mom and Dad ran up to them and said “Welcome!”
My parents always tell me to do the right thing, especially when no one is looking. But lots of people were looking that day. Our family became famous just for being nice to space aliens, espe...
Small Acts of Kindness
I believe kindness = character.
Author and humanist Victor Hugo wrote, “The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness.” The painting, “Small Acts of Kindness,” is my interpretation of how kindness shapes the mind and impacts mental health.
Science supports my contention that kindness matters. Kindness has been shown to increase self-esteem, empathy and compassion, and improve mood, according to Steve Siegle, Psy.D., of Mayo Clinic Health System. “Kindness can increase your sense of connectivity with others, decrease loneliness, c...
Sirius Made Me Do It!
Featured at NOMA Gallery and The Brick Gallery, Ocala, Florida.
Fido here. Let me explain this painting and why I'm not in it. You see, the Ancient Greeks believed that Sirius could affect dogs adversely, making them behave abnormally during intensely hot weather, the so-called “dog days of summer.” That’s what Wikipedia says anyway. I can relate. I get a little whack-a-doodle when it’s hot and humid. Also I share my house with four felonious cats: Snowball, Tiger, Pounce, and the aptly named Murder Weapon (you should see her claws!) Mom and Dad love these fetid creatures, but there...
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Featured Works
Oil, Acrylic and Alcohol Ink Paintings by Ellen Hosafros
