About
I began my painting life as a book illustrator and, for two decades, worked on a variety of commercial projects. My portfolio now includes painting, film, animation, biography, and portraits. Within these varied mediums, the works share fundamental qualities: an overarching celebration of the human spirit, a striving for harmonies, a smidge of humor, and a dedication to portraying the facts.
Primarily I work with gouache on paper. While this brilliant, opaque watercolor is stubborn and difficult to blend, it is friendly to precision and allows for extraordinary clarity.
My detailed portraits include numerous objects that give hints of the subject’s private life. I like to explore the contents of drawers, implements in a kitchen, treasures in a studio. I discover humor in objects which are sometimes laughable just for being honored in paint. My recent paintings are larger in scale and have outgrown a place on the bookshelf.
In addition to portraying people, I’ve often painted animals. In my painted world, animals are free of social stigmas and make wonderful examples of particular people-characteristics. They show our best side and inspire empathy for our lovable human natures.
Bio
I grew up as Eleanor (Bobbie) Lanahan in Washington D.C. After attending Sarah Lawrence College and the Rhode Island School of Design, I moved to Vermont and married in 1972. My three children were born here and for sixteen years my name was Eleanor Hazard. I am grateful to live in this part of the world with dramatic seasons, mountain vistas, an abundance of good people and sensible politics.
