“Ella Grace Cooke Featured in September 2024 at Village Gallery of Local Artists”

Watercolorist Ella Grace Cooke will be the Featured Artist at the Village Gallery of Local Artists for the month of September 2024. A reception will be held on Friday, September 6th, from 5 to 8 p.m. to showcase her work. Cooke will be present to discuss her art and explain her process.

A rabbit. A woman on a cliff. A flowing river. Some people struggle to recall a single nighttime dream. Ella Grace Cooke maintains an active, communicative relationship with her dream life, then translates what she receives into vibrant watercolor pieces.

At the Village Gallery of Local Artists, collectors find Cooke’s whimsical style reflected in an eclectic variety of works on display. From original framed paintings and giclée prints, to magnets, t-shirts, and the children’s picture book she authored, Cooke’s imagery is lilting and nature-focused. She finds inspiration in equal degrees from the vast Arizona landscape and the broad scope of her own interior.

­“When I moved to Sedona in 2017, I took a position as a live-in nurse for a wonderful elderly woman. She decided to move out-of-state to be near her family. During the packing phase, she handed me a small red tin and asked, ‘Do you want these?’ – I opened the tin and my [watercolor] journey began.”

Cooke describes the unique challenges of making art from dreams. “The connection drives me to get out of bed at midnight to mix water and color. I’ve learned to submit, or the ideas will be lost until the next wave comes. Sometimes, I clearly see the visions that I paint. Other times, I let the water become the story it wants to tell and I’m just a delighted observer in the process.”

Not surprisingly, it can be a struggle to name her different pieces. And she does not always know what the imagery means or what the dream is saying. “I do have explanations at times,” she explains. “But I would rather leave the interpretation to the viewer.”

Cooke’s art also springs out of her connections with people. A Boston native, she worked for many years as a pediatric nurse (and this reflects in the child-like joy apparent in her work). “I painted a young girl, with a white horse, sitting in a flowery field next to a stream. I named this piece, ‘Isabelle,’ after one of my pediatric patients, who couldn’t walk. She loved horses. A few years back, on First Friday at the gallery, a woman purchased a giclée canvas print of ‘Isabelle.’ She became weepy and shared with me that it brought back wonderful memories of her late daughter.”

The public is invited to meet Ella Grace Cooke, view her work, and discuss her process from 5-8pm on Friday, September 6th. Refreshments will be served. The Village Gallery is located at 6512 State Route 179, in the Village of Oak Creek, and is always accepting applications for unique art and new membership. For more information, go to sedonalocalartists.com or phone (928) 284-1416.