Ova
“Ova” by Katie Elkins is a dreamlike meditation on origin, vulnerability, and the quiet persistence of memory. Painted in lush, intuitive strokes, this oil painting features three oval forms that float like glowing orbs in a twilight forest—each encasing a figure in varying stages of embodiment and awareness.
The background is a deep, swirling tapestry of shadowy purples, moss greens, and soft, earthy browns. Dappled with flickers of pink, orange, and teal, the surrounding space suggests a forest floor at dusk or the liminal space between dreaming and waking. The layered brushwork gives a sense of both movement and stillness, like leaves shifting in moonlight.
Within each glowing oval, rendered with warm whites and amber halos, rests a portrait. At the top left, a contemplative face gazes outward—open-eyed but distant, as if remembering. At the bottom, a dark-haired woman with soft, deliberate features folds her arms protectively across her chest. She looks directly at the viewer with a gaze that holds both defiance and peace. The third oval, to the right, cradles a curled form—part infant, part spirit—nestled in repose. It evokes the womb, the threshold of becoming.
The composition is both symbolic and organic, calling to mind seeds, eggs, or sacred vessels. The figures appear suspended in time, caught in the act of forming, transforming, or recalling. The title, Ova, underscores the biological and metaphysical themes—this is a painting about the genesis of identity, the cyclical nature of existence, and the protective cocoons we inhabit before becoming fully ourselves.
Emotive and uncanny, Ova invites the viewer into a quiet, sacred space—a forest of memory and becoming, where each figure is held, not in isolation, but in connection to something ancient and fertile.
30×48 oil on canvas
“Ova” by Katie Elkins is a dreamlike meditation on origin, vulnerability, and the quiet persistence of memory. Painted in lush, intuitive strokes, this oil painting features three oval forms that float like glowing orbs in a twilight forest—each encasing a figure in varying stages of embodiment and awareness.
The background is a deep, swirling tapestry of shadowy purples, moss greens, and soft, earthy browns. Dappled with flickers of pink, orange, and teal, the surrounding space suggests a forest floor at dusk or the liminal space between dreaming and waking. The layered brushwork gives a sense of both movement and stillness, like leaves shifting in moonlight.
Within each glowing oval, rendered with warm whites and amber halos, rests a portrait. At the top left, a contemplative face gazes outward—open-eyed but distant, as if remembering. At the bottom, a dark-haired woman with soft, deliberate features folds her arms protectively across her chest. She looks directly at the viewer with a gaze that holds both defiance and peace. The third oval, to the right, cradles a curled form—part infant, part spirit—nestled in repose. It evokes the womb, the threshold of becoming.
The composition is both symbolic and organic, calling to mind seeds, eggs, or sacred vessels. The figures appear suspended in time, caught in the act of forming, transforming, or recalling. The title, Ova, underscores the biological and metaphysical themes—this is a painting about the genesis of identity, the cyclical nature of existence, and the protective cocoons we inhabit before becoming fully ourselves.
Emotive and uncanny, Ova invites the viewer into a quiet, sacred space—a forest of memory and becoming, where each figure is held, not in isolation, but in connection to something ancient and fertile.
30×48 oil on canvas
“Ova” by Katie Elkins is a dreamlike meditation on origin, vulnerability, and the quiet persistence of memory. Painted in lush, intuitive strokes, this oil painting features three oval forms that float like glowing orbs in a twilight forest—each encasing a figure in varying stages of embodiment and awareness.
The background is a deep, swirling tapestry of shadowy purples, moss greens, and soft, earthy browns. Dappled with flickers of pink, orange, and teal, the surrounding space suggests a forest floor at dusk or the liminal space between dreaming and waking. The layered brushwork gives a sense of both movement and stillness, like leaves shifting in moonlight.
Within each glowing oval, rendered with warm whites and amber halos, rests a portrait. At the top left, a contemplative face gazes outward—open-eyed but distant, as if remembering. At the bottom, a dark-haired woman with soft, deliberate features folds her arms protectively across her chest. She looks directly at the viewer with a gaze that holds both defiance and peace. The third oval, to the right, cradles a curled form—part infant, part spirit—nestled in repose. It evokes the womb, the threshold of becoming.
The composition is both symbolic and organic, calling to mind seeds, eggs, or sacred vessels. The figures appear suspended in time, caught in the act of forming, transforming, or recalling. The title, Ova, underscores the biological and metaphysical themes—this is a painting about the genesis of identity, the cyclical nature of existence, and the protective cocoons we inhabit before becoming fully ourselves.
Emotive and uncanny, Ova invites the viewer into a quiet, sacred space—a forest of memory and becoming, where each figure is held, not in isolation, but in connection to something ancient and fertile.
30×48 oil on canvas