Yellena James is an abstract painter and illustrator who was born in Sarajevo in 1977, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. James’s work features colorful shapes and lines which–via interplay of spatial arrangement and dimension–create dynamic, surreal scenes riddled with intense hue and detail (very much worth viewing larger).
“I try to create an intimate world that possesses its own ethos and its own emotional range,” James says. Personally, I’m enamored with the color combinations and sense of movement. To me these images have a magnetic field or gravitational pull that wants to suck me into a new dimension. Here are some more of my favorite illustrations:
You can purchase prints of James’s art via her Etsy shop. To learn more about her, check out this cool Etsy “Featured Seller” interview. You can also see more of James’s drawings, paintings, and projects on her website, blog, or Flickr page.
So–what do you think? I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
It looks natural, like a garden of complementary patterns. It looks like it should be moving and pulsating. A beautiful find.
For some reason seeing the artist say that her own surreal abstract art has “emotional range” makes me sort of roll my eyes. But each piece does have its own ethos! And they’re all very lush and pretty. Thank you for showing me. Us.
Rudy–I’m glad you enjoyed them. I think what she meant with regards to “emotional range” was that it’s what she strives for (as opposed to something she’s bragging about).