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What if you spent every day looking for One Beautiful Thing?

Look Away

by 18 Comments

elle

Elle Hanley

(Reminder: Etsomnia is taking the week off. It will be back next week, tanned and rested!)

You know how I’m often drawn to artists that leave their subjects’ faces out of their art? Well, here I go again. These are the mysterious, painterly, nearly-always faceless photos by Elle Hanley. The self-taught Seattle fine art photographer creates images that feel like paintings by the old masters, but with a modern surrealist twist.

I love how these photos seem to drop you into the middle of a story, and I’d love to read the story they’re telling. I hope you’re as intrigued and drawn in by this work as I am.

You can look at Hanley’s photos on her website, purchase them on Saatchi Art, and follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr.

All images property of Elle Hanley.

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(Via)

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Author: Donna from One Beautiful Thing

I have committed to spending part of every day looking for at least one beautiful thing, and sharing what I find with you lovelies!

18 thoughts on “Look Away”

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  1. Dina's avatar
    Dina
    July 6, 2017 at 5:05 am

    WOW – Donna, this is breathtakingly good! Thank you so much for introducing Elle Hanley to us. Very inspiring work! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. janhaltn's avatar
    janhaltn
    July 6, 2017 at 7:27 am

    I had other things to do this AM. I did not realize that I spent almost an hour looking at the pictures. On her web site she makes no effort to hide the fact that she uses ‘PhotoShop’. So I wonder what is a picture and what has she added. Great work

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Ellie's avatar
    Ellie
    July 6, 2017 at 8:41 am

    Gorgeous! I especially like the archer and the Japanese woman with the crane.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Raylene's avatar
    Raylene
    July 6, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    I’m glad you clarified that she is a photographer who makes her pictures look like paintings, because I would have sworn that one of the ballerina was a painting! Some of these look more like paintings than others, and some (regardless of its painting or photo look) I like better than others, but all are definitely unique.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Donna from One Beautiful Thing's avatar
      Donna from MyOBT
      July 6, 2017 at 2:00 pm

      I’d love to know what Photoshop filters she’s using!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • janhaltn's avatar
        janhaltn
        July 6, 2017 at 2:55 pm

        Let me be clear. I was taking nothing away from her beautiful art. She had to have the artist eye to take the base picture and pose the base models. She is purely outstanding. It was the birds that got my eye not the models or the art. But just like so many artist today, post work is part of the art. I sure couldn’t do it. Today I can’t tell what is real and what is computer generated art a lot of time.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Laura (PA Pict)'s avatar
    Laura (PA Pict)
    July 6, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    There’s something about the processing style that’s very reminiscent of really early photography – like Julia Margaret Cameron perhaps – but then the compositions and concepts within them are strikingly modern. I like that startling juxtaposition.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Jack Shalom's avatar
    Jack Shalom
    July 7, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Wow. Very impressive. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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