About Me - Elena Nahum Leroy

Elena NL

Quirky
Alice in Woderland
Surrealistic

Childlike
Fun
Weird

Colourful
Whimsical
Fantasy

Courage
Experiment
From the Heart

Vibrant
Intriguing
Thought -Provoking

Artist Statement

Like many artists with academic backgrounds, I started with realism in classic techniques: pencil drawing, watercolour, and oil. However, I got bored with copying the life I saw around me (and the life wasn’t necessarily that beautiful and pleasant), so I turned to another path, more creative and full of freedom.

The world is full of pain and if I depict violence or suffering, it doesn’t help. Now, my art blends whimsy, creativity, and vibrant colours, radiating happiness and fun. It embraces traditional elements with a quirky twist, creating a modern vintage aesthetic that captivates my audience and brings them to my art shows.

I prioritize originality, ensuring my work stands out. Bold and colorful, it transports viewers to a grand fairy tale world, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Its unusual beauty offers a glimpse into my imaginative mind.

Through my art, I aim to inspire and evoke emotions, inviting them on an enchanting journey. It is stunning, thought-provoking, and explores timely themes. It is an authentic expression of who I am, sparking joy and wonder in those who encounter it.

Artist Bio

Apart from many artists, I wasn’t a child who showed talent from first ages, and my first scribbles were just scribbles, and nothing else.

Did I like art? Yes. Did I know that I’d become an artist? No. Did I want it? Yes. Did I believe in it? No.

I was a very smart girl with deep interests and talents in math and science, experiments and loved creating things with hands. I didn’t have a chance to attend an art school, because of many reasons: too far from home, too much homework, and, what’s the most devastating, who needed arts when even the essentials were not available. People were spending a lot of time in lines to buy basic groceries.

So, I even didn’t dare to think to pursue artist’s way. I made a practical choice and got my Master’s Degree in finance and built a good career as an investment analyst. A problem of paying bills was solved. Even being a student, I found financial jobs and started building my career.

However, I always had an internal call to paint and was substituting this with crocheting, knitting, sewing, photography etc. But I am what I am, and hiding from myself can’t become a long-term strategy.

In 2005, as soon as I found an art school for adults, I started taking classes. Just to learn, without any ambitions. Painting turned in to my obsession: it was never enough and was always in my mind.

Since then, my life was gradually changing. In 2009, when I moved to Canada and settled down in Vancouver, BC, I got two real options: begin a new career, either in financial sector, or in arts. I chose the letter.

The same year I opened my art studio with RUSART Fine Arts name, where I have been teaching arts to children and adults.

I’m always learning. Although some people think I’m “fluent” almost in any medium, my favourite remains oil painting that gives me the full sensation of colours: texture, chroma, glazing… everything. Since 2010 I participated in dozens of art shows (group and solo, juried and open) and got rewards and mentions in the press.

In 2018, during my visit to St.Petersburg, I learnt jewelry-making and hot-enamelling techniques that opened me a door to a new and huge world. Being fascinated with colors, metalworks and their combinations with gems, I started working on my own designs. Slowly, not always successful, like anyone else I was learning on my own mistakes.

However, this also wasn’t enough for me. Being a very big fan of historical artefacts and little things, I started giving them a new life. I’m buying from collectors rare little artefacts from Ancient Greece, Rome, Byzantine Empire, or medieval times; clean and restore them using some chemicals and special tools; and then, incorporate these new old things into my Artefact Jewelry Collection. The oldest piece I worked with yet was 3800 years old.

Unfortunately, in 2020 pandemic hit the world and ruined many plans for exhibitions and art shows. I was washed out with the first lockdown and had to close all my art schools in April 2020. I switched to teaching online, but it’s not the same as in-person classes.

With less teaching hours and more time for experiments, I started fulfilling my scientific interests – a technical and scientific part of paint making. I developed formulas for watercolour and oil paints, free from harsh chemicals or fillers, as well as recreated old masters’ recipes of oil mediums without using solvents to keep painting process safe for artists working indoors. Also, I formulated natural and very efficient oil brush cleaners that got appreciation from many artists across Canada, as well as internationally.

I was very happy with how my “new inventions” go, but a very bad accident happened to me in December 2020, While cleaning a paint grinding machine, my right hand got trapped between metal rollers and were dragged in to 4mm wide gap. With fingertips crashed, multiple bones broken, and carpal tunnel damaged, I became temporarily disabled and had to learn how to perform my everyday life and arts with one left hand (I’m right-handed). After several surgeries and therapies, my hand partially recovered and since the beginning of 2022, I got back to my metalworks, with limitations though.

Now, every single piece of jewelry and every painting is my small victory over pain and limitations, because working with fingers that are half numb and half hypersensitive is a big challenge.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

2010

(group) Positively Petite, Place des Arts, Coquitlam, BC

2011

(individual) Vancouver Media Art, Vancouver, BC
(group) New Westminster Cultural Crawl, New Westminster, BC
(individual) West End Community Center, Vancouver, BC
(group, juried) Positively Petite, Place des Arts, Coquitlam, BC

2012

(group) Art Square, New Westminster, BC
(group) Visual Verse – 2012, , New Westminster, BC
(group) Elemental Show, New Westminster, BC

2013

(group) Visual Verse – 2013, New Westminster
(group, juried) Positively Petite, Place des Arts, Coquitlam

2014

(group) New Westminster Cultural Crawl, New Westminster, BC
(group, juried) Wonderland, North Vancouver Art Council, CityScape Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC

2016

(group) Van Gogh Museum exhibition at Oakridge Centre, 1st place award, Vancouver, BC
(group) Art Squared, New Westminster Art Council, New Westminster, BC
(group, juried) Positively Petite, Place des Arts, Coquitlam, BC
(group) Fall Classic Art Show, New Westminster, BC
(group) Slavic Gala, UBC, Vancouver, BC

2017

(group) Art Squares, Gallery in the Park, New Westminster, BC
(group) Local Abstraction, Semiahmoo Arts, Surrey, BC
(group, juried) Below 40, Federation of Canadian Artis, Vancouver, BC
(group) Anonymous art show, North Vancouver, BC

2018

(group) Hycroft Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
(solo, juried) Alice in Wonderland, Art on Display, White Rock Community Center (White Rock, BC)
(group, juried) Aquarelle at Pastel, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
(group) Local Abstraction, Semiahmoo Arts, Surrey, BC

2019