Lenore, by Ellie Steffen

September 14, 2008 – Perhaps the greatest compliment any artist can receive is for another artist to say he or she inspired creative work. Yesterday,  I received that great compliment when I drove down to the Doghouse Gallery in Woodstock, N.Y., where the artist Eleanor Steffen is now showing her remarkable work, some of which is based on photographs of the dogs and other animals of Bedlam Farm. I was blown away by the originality and vibrance of these works, and by Ellie’s strikingly original interpretations of the animals I live with.
  Ellie said she begins most mornings with a cup of coffee and this blog, and the photos and texts spark many of her portraits. That’s amazing, and I’m humbled. Ellie often imagines the animals in different ways, and her portrait of Luna, my ugliest and least appealing animal, is just brilliant. Her use of color is also remarkable. I love her portrait of Mongo, Pastor Steve McLean’s spiritual pit bull.
  I met Ellie last year and was struck by her inventive, sometimes striking interpretations of Lenore, Elvis, Minnie, Luna and the roosters and chickens. She paints many other things besides my animals, and more than 40 of her works are on display and for sale at the gallery (845-246-0402). Ellie’s husband, the famed silkscreen artist Bernard Steffen, died in 1980.
  Ellie and I talked for hours, and connected. She says I am now her unofficial younger brother, and I’m happy for the job. She is as prolific as she is creative, and she does great justice to these creatures. She met Izzy for the first time, and they clicked. She told me to be less analytical about my photos, and I think she’s right.
  Ellie and I share a fierce determination to live our lives, and to take our troubles and energy and channel them in creative ways. She has produced an astonishing amount of great work.
 In any case, I am very happy to present some photos of the animals of Bedlam Farm. Ellie and I are plotting a joint show in Woodstock next year at the Doghouse Gallery, her paintings and the photos that inspired them.