Elena Degenhardt
Portrait of Brenda
Pastel on Paper
12x16 inches
Elena Degenhardt is a German representational painter, specializing in soft pastels but also working in other dry media, acrylics, and oils. She is dividing her time between the city of Düsseldorf and the North Sea coast, Germany, painting both en plein air and in her studio.
Born in West Siberia, Russia, she spent her early years in Germany and Latvia, grew up in East Siberia and moved to Munich, Germany in 2003.
Classically educated in art in Russia, Elena obtained two university degrees in literatures and languages and got back to art in 2015, after a successful international career in teaching and translating.
"A moment; a movement; a mood. In Elena’s art, the ephemeral is made permanent ... In fact, there is no escaping the emotion that crashing waves and stolen glances can instil in us when laying eyes on one of her creations.” - Iggy Fenech, writer and editor.
Professional artist since 2017, Elena has been awarded the status of the Master Pastelist with the IAPS - International Association of pastel Societies, Signature Member Status in the Pastel Society of America (PSA), Associate Member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art, UK (ASGFA) and Associate Artist of the Unison Colour. She is a Member of PoetsArtists community (USA), Malta Society of Arts, Pastel Guild of Europe and Association of Professional Artists of Austria (Berufsvereinigung der Bildender Künstler Österreichs).
Publications of her work include those in the Yearbook ‘Arte y Libertad XV’ and Leonardo Art Guide 2020 (Galeria Artelibre in collaboration with the MEAM - European Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona, Spain), in several PoetsArtists publications, USA, French art magazine Pratique Des Arts, Artists&Illustrators, UK, Richeson75 Landscape, Seascape & Architecture 2020 exhibition book (USA) and “Les Pastellistes 2020” Exhibition catalogue, Canada.
She received multiple international awards, including the Best of Show Award in the IAPS - International Association of Pastel Societies 2021 Gallery Show at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago for the piece 'Inheritance', an Honorable Mention Award in the IBPC - International Biennial Portrait Competition 2021 at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art for her self-portrait 'Breaking point'; Honorable Mention Award in the UART International Online Pastel Competition 2021 for her painting 'Levitation III', People's Choice Award in Richeson75 Landscape & Architecture Competition 2020 for 'Northern Melody'; several Honorable Mentions in The Pastel Guild of Europe's competitions and 3d place for 'Meditation V. The Subconscious'; several Outstanding Pastel Awards in the BoldBrush International Painting Competition Museum of Contemporary Art, USA and a semi-finalist in the Art Renewal Center's 15th ARC Salon (2020).
