San Francisco painter Elaine Coombs has a unique approach to light and landscape broken into “pixelated dots" has won her a wide following.Painting with knives rather than brushes, and employing dots or disks rather than strokes, Coombs plays with pattern, repetition, and color in such a way that these qualities have become a secondary, abstract subject. Inherently modern – Coombs' images evoke pixilation by her use of this painstaking technique. In her latest artwork, Elaine is exploring the effects of sunlight and fog in her landscapes. "At my best, I am an unapologetically optimistic individual that hopes to inspire through a halcyon lens of uplifting imagery. Nature has always been the place where I can return to the center spiritually, as it fosters in me a clearer connection with the presence of the divine. My painting has evolved recently from the depiction of the idyllic, sunlit landscape to a similarly auspicious interpretation of the sky. Mesmerized by cloud patterns and the colors found at golden hour, I seek to conjure a peaceful emotional space, as well as interpret a physical one. In the studio, reflective metallic backgrounds in silvery pearl and gold acrylic stand-in for sunlight and provide a soothing visual respite to rhythmic palette knife marks that indicate clouds, meticulously applied. This combination of both simple and complex forms completes an ethereal skyward vision of the artist’s ideal psychological state made manifest." --Elaine Coombs