Ghost House II
“Ghost House II” by Katie Elkins, part of her After Helene series, is a haunting and emotive oil painting that captures the ephemeral, memory-laden residue of place and trauma. Rendered in soft, ethereal strokes of purples, pinks, and smoky whites, the image of a house emerges like a specter from a darkened, textured background. The edges of the structure are hazy and indistinct, giving it a ghostly, half-remembered quality—like something glimpsed in a dream or fading from memory.
The background is richly layered in dark tones—deep navy, muted blacks, and hints of emerald—suggesting nightfall or a psychological landscape of uncertainty and aftermath. The house itself, though central, feels unstable, as though it could vanish at any moment. This evokes both physical and emotional displacement, a recurring theme in the After Helene series, which responds to the disruption and loss caused by Hurricane Helene.
There’s a quiet, mournful stillness in the piece, yet also a resilience in its gentle luminosity. The house, though spectral, is still standing. Elkins’ brushwork and color choices emphasize impermanence, memory, and the haunting echo of what once was—a fitting tribute to the personal and communal stories tied to place and catastrophe.
11×14 oil on canvas, framed
“Ghost House II” by Katie Elkins, part of her After Helene series, is a haunting and emotive oil painting that captures the ephemeral, memory-laden residue of place and trauma. Rendered in soft, ethereal strokes of purples, pinks, and smoky whites, the image of a house emerges like a specter from a darkened, textured background. The edges of the structure are hazy and indistinct, giving it a ghostly, half-remembered quality—like something glimpsed in a dream or fading from memory.
The background is richly layered in dark tones—deep navy, muted blacks, and hints of emerald—suggesting nightfall or a psychological landscape of uncertainty and aftermath. The house itself, though central, feels unstable, as though it could vanish at any moment. This evokes both physical and emotional displacement, a recurring theme in the After Helene series, which responds to the disruption and loss caused by Hurricane Helene.
There’s a quiet, mournful stillness in the piece, yet also a resilience in its gentle luminosity. The house, though spectral, is still standing. Elkins’ brushwork and color choices emphasize impermanence, memory, and the haunting echo of what once was—a fitting tribute to the personal and communal stories tied to place and catastrophe.
11×14 oil on canvas, framed
“Ghost House II” by Katie Elkins, part of her After Helene series, is a haunting and emotive oil painting that captures the ephemeral, memory-laden residue of place and trauma. Rendered in soft, ethereal strokes of purples, pinks, and smoky whites, the image of a house emerges like a specter from a darkened, textured background. The edges of the structure are hazy and indistinct, giving it a ghostly, half-remembered quality—like something glimpsed in a dream or fading from memory.
The background is richly layered in dark tones—deep navy, muted blacks, and hints of emerald—suggesting nightfall or a psychological landscape of uncertainty and aftermath. The house itself, though central, feels unstable, as though it could vanish at any moment. This evokes both physical and emotional displacement, a recurring theme in the After Helene series, which responds to the disruption and loss caused by Hurricane Helene.
There’s a quiet, mournful stillness in the piece, yet also a resilience in its gentle luminosity. The house, though spectral, is still standing. Elkins’ brushwork and color choices emphasize impermanence, memory, and the haunting echo of what once was—a fitting tribute to the personal and communal stories tied to place and catastrophe.
11×14 oil on canvas, framed