Ellie Ka Yu Ng is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Painting at the New York Academy of Art. Ellie’s paintings are about possession and her obsession with beautiful outfits. Her work is published in Volume 11.

Angeliki Kim Jonsson is the founder of DYNAMISK Curating and Art Advisory alongside the curating and advising projects she runs an “In Conversation with..” series that is soon available as a pod cast. Angeliki is currently co-writing her first book.

Angeliki: How and when did you first start to paint?

Ellie: I learned to use acrylic when I was in elementary school. I originally wanted to become a fashion designer, but then as I grew up, I changed my mind to become an illustrator. The school I was in was very open-minded about the mediums we used, so during my last year of college, which was last year, I started experimenting with oil.

Angeliki: You are currently based in New York City, can you tell me how that has impacted your art practice?

Ellie: I do think location has had an impact on my art. I used to live in Canada before I moved here. It was a place that focuses on nature, even the art there. But when I moved here, people act and dress differently; it’s all so glamorous here. I think that’s why it has unconsciously inspired me to paint my subjects in a shiny and glamorous way.

Angeliki: I love that it says on your Instagram profile “currently obsessed with beautiful outfits” can you please tell us what you mean with this?

Ellie: I purposely wrote “currently” because I might be obsessed with something else later. It’s a reminder to myself that I don’t want to settle on painting the same things all my life. I like beautiful outfits and I want to own them, but at the same time, I can’t buy all these outfits because there are no scenarios for me to wear them. For example, I like wedding dresses, but I can’t wear a wedding dress and walk around my neighbourhood every day or go grocery shopping. Technically I can, but it’s against the social norms, and people would be staring. But what if I paint myself in a pretty lace wedding dress and place myself in a beautiful well-thought setting? So, I can wear it permanently on a canvas. That’s when I started borrowing outfits and pieces of jewellery that I wish I’d own, styling myself, and painting myself in it so that I can own it in some way. I usually construct my painting compositions based on the dress I want to paint, instead of sketching a scenario and then put the dress in it; because I want the dress to be the main subject for my painting. As an obsessive painter, I find it very satisfying while painting my glamorous fantasy.

Angeliki: What are you currently working on?

Ellie: I’m currently moving forward to the paintings I’ve submitted for FOA. I’m starting a series which I’m calling “the midnight series” right now. They are paintings of pretty dresses worn in the middle of the night when no one’s watching.

Angeliki: How long time does it take to complete a work of art? Do they range widely in size or is there a specific format you prefer working within?

Ellie: It usually takes me a month or a month and a half to finish a painting. Sometimes I work on two paintings at the same time. And I do have a specific format! Every time I rent a dress first so I can feel the dress in person before designing my composition for the painting.

Angeliki: Which artists and/or art movements inspire you and your practice? (and why!)

Ellie: Different art movements inspire me differently, so I don’t have one specific favourite. When I started painting, I was inspired by illustrators like JC Leyendecker, Toulouse Lautrec, and Coles Philips because they depict beauty in a glamorous and elegant way. Then I started looking at artists from the Renaissance like Moroni, who paints beautiful texture and fabrics. I also like Vigee Le Brun and Ingres because of their sense of texture and ideal beauty. I remember walking into the Met museum with butterflies in my stomach in front of Ingres painting. I can’t explain the butterflies when I see paintings depicting beauty and glamor, which has inspired me to make paintings that give people the same feeling.

Angeliki: If you could explain in once sentence the core of your practice, the ‘thesis’ of your art. What would you say?

Ellie: My paintings are currently about possession and my obsession with beautiful outfits.

Angeliki: How have your art changed / developed over the years?

Ellie: I think I’ve made some unconscious development. I initially placed by subject matter with patterns in the background. Then I started experimenting, giving some space for the patterns, and then putting my subject in a real place- interior. And now, I’m placing my figures in an outdoor setting. It’s like my confidence, as well as my subject’s confidence, are building every time I do a painting.

Angeliki: What are you doing next? Is there any exciting future project you would like to share with me?

Ellie: I give myself a series to do each year, which is like a fashion show for each season. Right now, I’m working on my midnight series, but I recently got inspired by mannequins, so I’m currently doing some researches about it; maybe I’ll do something with that next year.

Ellie Ka Yu Ng in Conversation with Angeliki Kim Jonsson