ONLI
Painter's bold and bright paintings enliven virtual galleries.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
E
laine Treisman paints the traditional
way, using oils on canvas, but she shows
her work with a more avant-garde
approach, displaying large numbers of
images on two Web sites.
The artist, settled into a studio in her Bloomfield
Hills home, opened her first site,
vvvvvv.treismanart.com , at the suggestion and imple-
mentation of a son. She recently provided images for a
second site, vvvvw.janehaslemgallery.com, at the behest
of a Washington, D.C., gallery owner, who noticed
the original Internet exhibit.
Treisman, with more than 400 realistic and abstract
scenes between the two online venues, showcases a style
distinguished by bright and bold colors. Her subjects
range from people engaged in social activities to rooms
designed with imaginative decors.
"Having these exhibits is all very exciting for
me," says Treisman, 69, who worked as a sculptor
before realizing that she could enhance her expres-
sion with vast choices in shadings and hues. "I like
to do series and have many on the Web."
Treisman's series
open viewers to
growing groups of
interests, from biblical depictions to contemporary
pursuits. Her brushstrokes have captured couples
in romantic settings, musicians on the job, people
at parties, children with playthings and horsemen
in - the country. Renderings related to her family
history also are included.
"I paint whenever I can and work among 10 can-
vases simultaneously because of the drying time
needed for each picture," explains Treisman, whose
studio and art storage area are shown on the Web
site designed by her son. "Even though I've moved
away from sculpture, I think in terms of three
dimensions as I paint."
Serious attention to art came after Treisman
began studying psychology at the University of
Michigan in the 1950s. Although she always liked
to doodle, she didn't take her drawing seriously
until enrolling in art classes while in Ann Arbor.
After working with casting and welding metals
for 20 years, she transitioned into paintings
through her use of fiberglass. The material sparked
her interest in color, and she enrolled in classes at
Wayne State University, earning her bachelor of
fine arts degree in 1979.
While Treisman's sculpture gained attention at
group shows, her paintings
brought many one-person
exhibits. The Detroit Institute of
Arts, Detroit Artists Market and
the Pontiac Center featured
Treisman's projects joined with the
projects of others in the 1960s.
Later, she showed in solo offerings
at the Gruen Gallery in Chicago,
University of Illinois, Gallery Blu in Birmingham,
Janice Charach Epstein Gallery in West Bloomfield
and the Starkweather Art and Cultural Center in
Romeo.
Her sculptural projects, including busts of peo-
ple completed as memorial tributes, have become
part of the collections of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, Temple Israel and the Jewish Community
Center. She has sculpted bronze busts of Golda
Meir and Rabbi Morris Adler, the late spiritual
leader at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield, where her family has worshiped.
"I like Elaine's work because it really seems to
capture a woman's point of view," explains Jane
Haslem, owner of her namesake gallery. "I also like
ONLINE on page 40
From left:
"Interior with Vermeen" 1996, oil on canvas
ffInterio.r with Ballet Dancers," 1986, oil on canvas
"Horse Racing, #7," 2002, oil on canvas
"Tango, #3," 2000, oil on canvas
505 S. Lafayette
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2004
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