Elva Hook was born 1958 in Woodstock Ontario, Canada. Drawing on the kitchen chalk board before she could write, was the beginning of visual communications for her. Her high school art classes (back then) were taught by professionals in fine art, graphics and commercial arts. She is certain she would not have finished high school without those three excellent teachers. She went on to Sheridan College with a variety of creative and technical skills in hand. Anxious to get into the "real" world, she dropped out of college after two years and moved to Toronto. Working freelance in advertising allowed a lifestyle of creative experience and experimentation in a variety of mediums.
She now lives and works from her studio in Toronto's west end. Living close to Lake Ontario and High Park allows daily connection to nature and a continual source of inspiration.
Statement
Painting is my attempt to integrate and express the impact of physical and emotional experience. My paintings reveal new details and revelations every time I see them. The obvious jumps out first, and as nuances emerge, everything changes. To see something new in the everyday we take for granted is amazing to me. I love it when people light up seeing their own sparks of revelations within a painting.
I have been painting since I was young, but I haven't always known what to paint. I painted a lot of "things" as I was learning but I didn't feel satisfied or able to achieve a depth of an experience. I experimented with latex and mediums and quit using a paint brush for a couple years. In 2007 I was awarded an Ontario Arts Grant and upgraded from latex to professional liquid acrylics. As I refined my techniques, I integrated brush work and continued to let the paint show me how to paint. Challenging my own limitations, I push into surprising new depths. After 50 years of painting I might be closer to achieving the depth I strive for.