Elaine Clarfield Gitalios is a Canadian fine artist based in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated with honors from the Ontario College of Art (OCAD) in 1969, majoring in textile design. While her early career focused on textiles, weaving, and natural dye techniques, she ultimately returned to painting, where she developed a signature style rooted in bold color, dynamic brushwork, and layered compositions. For many years, she balanced her painting practice with teaching, and mentoring both individual artists and groups such as the Willowdale Artists Group, the Markham Group of Artists, and the Toronto Watercolor Society. A founding member of the Thornhill Artists Studio Tour, she was consistently among its top-selling artists. Her latest work for Drew Marc Gallery showcases a bold new direction, incorporating multi-layered applications of paint and resin—a technique she has been experimenting with to create depth, luminosity, and striking surface textures. This innovative approach has been extremely sought after, making her work a standout success at the gallery. Now fully dedicated to her own practice, she continues to push creative boundaries, blending color, texture, and movement in captivating new ways. Artist Statement: I perceive the world through my own personal lenses. The wonders that I see are organized and then painted into powerful and captivating illusions. These canvases elicit visions that give the essence of light by the use of form and color exclusively. Bold colors and energetic brushstrokes are combined to compose strong designs. The paintings have a distant “echo” of the tactile quality of my past textile background. The application of paint, in many layers, creates the appearance of a textured surface begging the viewer to touch the paintings. My own hands are included in the many paint application tools. I am at my most happy state of being when I am painting.