Artist Profile: Elly Hobgood

Connecting Through Watercolor

By Natalie De Valle

From the lens of her camera to the special watercolor paper, Ellys passion and talent with watercolors is obvious in the way she captures powerful images with the graceful stroke of her brush. I never know what will inspire me to paint, Elly Hobgood, Cherokee County Watercolor Artist, explains. It has to grab me. There has to be some sort of emotional connection.

Although she was born in Pennsylvania, Elly spent her school years growing up in Georgia. I started with cows and barns because I grew up on a farm. They came out of my paint brush first, she says. Rural scenes arent the only thing Elly enjoys painting. She also paints pictures of local landmarks, like the Crescent Farm Historical Center, locally known as the Rock Barn, and the Cherokee County Courthouse. Her favorite things to paint, however, are flowers and other still life pictures. All of her work starts from photographs she takes with her camera, and sometimes she combines multiple photographs to make one original painting. I started dabbling in watercolors as a stress reliever, taking a few workshops and classes every now and then. That was fourteen years ago, and now Elly is hooked.

She has always had a fondness for painting, but it wasnt until after Elly retired from nursing that she started painting full time. She creates a new painting every seven to ten days, but it doesnt always take that long. Sometimes, Ill start a painting in the morning and work all day, through lunch and dinner, and finish it, she says. But just because I finish a piece, doesnt mean I keep it. Sometimes, I dont like how my work turned out, and I have to restart it completely.

For two years, she painted beautiful pieces of art work and set them aside, allowing them to pile up, until her husband suggested she should sell her work. She now does art shows across the southeast and sells her work at Chamberhouse in downtown Canton. My art pieces are like children to me. I dont really sell them, but transfer custody of them. Its obvious in her beautiful textures, colors and shapes that Elly spends an abundance of time putting her whole heart into each painting. People whove previously bought and enjoyed my art return to visit me at art shows. Ive made a lot of friends that way.

Probably one of the most amazing things about Elly and her work is that shes 90% self-taught. She admits that she only took a few workshops to learn how to make certain things better. She now shares her personal tips and ideas in her local workshops and classes. I teach about 5 workshops a year and have been teaching my foundation class and landscape class for about six years now, Elly says. Her classes and workshops average about 10-15 people, all of whom admire Ellys work and teaching style.

To view Elly Hobgoods wonderful pieces, and learn dates for her classes and workshops, go to EllyHobgood.com.