Today we’d like to introduce you to Elif Burduroglu.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born to an artistic family, my mom being a singer and songwriter and my older sister and nephew also being musicians. Although I love music, my artistic passion has always been painting since I was a little girl. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston from Istanbul in 2007 that I decided to pursue my dream and become an artist. I took classes in MFA and dedicated myself to painting full time. Since then, I have been continually exploring new techniques, mediums and tools to refine my craft and tying to ensure that my lifelong artistic journey remains dynamic and ever evolving. Since I moved to Houston in 2021, I became a member of Conroe Art League and made great fellow artist friends which made this transition so much easier and fun for me. The art community here in Houston is amazing and I am blessed to be a part of such a great group of creatives.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always personal challenges, like feeling frustrated when I’m not happy with the end result, or not having a big enough studio space to be able to create really large scale works. I think the biggest struggle for me has been getting used to the idea of suddenly putting myself and my painting practice first instead of others around me. I always put others first and it took me a long time to accept that spending endless hours trying to get better at what I do isn’t actually selfish but necessary for my artistic development. Thanks to a very supportive spouse, family and friends, I feel more comfortable now but I won’t lie, I’m still working on focusing on my art without feeling guilty. The lesson I learned from this is, you can’t make others happy if you are not happy with yourself and what you do. I believe that following your passion and joy is an indicator for your true purpose in life and it creates a ripple effect and the happiness you bring to others comes more effortlessly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I paint whatever moves me and gives me joy. Although my subject matter varies, I try to evoke an emotional response and hope to create a sense of connection between my work and the viewer. I love to create richly layered abstract paintings by building them up slowly over time, building layer after layer, carving things out, adding more layers, colors, lines and textures until I reach a desired subtlety and feel.
I love to create female portraits who are emotional, fragile yet strong. I don’t aim for a photorealistic depiction but try to embrace a loose and semi abstract approach to my paintings. This applies to my still life works too.
I’m proud to paint from my heart and be always open to learning new things.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is staying true to myself, constantly developing through experimentation and hard work, trying not to lose joy or authenticity in my artistic journey by putting boundaries to myself or just hoping to please others. I found out over time that painting what I really love the way I want, regardless of others’ expectations is the key to beautiful and authentic work and that’s what I’ll keep doing. In the meantime I will try to find opportunities to showcase my work and will hope that there are people out there who will appreciate and connect with my paintings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elifspaintings.com
- Instagram: @artsy_elif
