Elly Smallwood is a figurative and portrait artist living in Canada. She works primarily in acrylics and oils.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Elly moving from Ottawa to the woods
• The energetic differences she notices between living in a city versus being in the woods
• Modern-day false prophets and gurus
• The power of questioning dogmatic principles
• Art capitalism
• Trying to seek balance in the need to live a peaceful life, while simultaneously wanting to seek progression in one’s career
• Elly’s experiences working with galleries
• Growth through vulnerability
• Her perspective of creating portraits of other people in contrast to creating portraits of herself
• Model vs. muse
• Elly’s bone collection
• Tarot and its influence on Elly’s artwork
• The Hermit and The Tower in the Major Arcana in Tarot
• Elly training Muay Thai
• Working through uncomfortable experiences

Artists / People Mentioned:

• Nina Menkes (Film Director)

Books Mentioned:

• The Richest Man In Babylon (George Samuel Clason)
• The Kybalion (Three Initiates)
• The Vegetarian (Han Kang)

Films / TV Series Mentioned:

• Wild Wild Country
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• Brainwashed: Sex, Camera, Power

artistdecoded.com elly.ca instagram.com/ellysmallwood