Grounded in observation and memory, Elliot Love’s paintings capture the quiet poetry of urban life. His streetscapes, often punctuated by the boxy silhouettes of 1980s and 90s Japanese cars, speak to nostalgia, change, and the beauty of the everyday. Ahead of his forthcoming exhibition at Parnell Gallery, we spoke with the artist about returning to painting, the influence of his surroundings, and the enduring allure of the urban landscape.
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Looking back, what moments or experiences set you on the path to becoming an artist?
I found my favourite class in high school to be the art class. I did Art Painting until year 12, when I left it to focus on everything academic. Long story short, I had come full circle again by 2018 after a visit to Tim Wilson’s gallery in Queenstown. I got to see some of his completed paintings, but also some work in progress pieces, all in the same room. It was transformative – the work in progress paintings were almost more important than the final pieces, because it showed a sequence and a process, which made everything seem a lot more possible. I bought fresh paints and canvas the very next day once back in Dunedin.
Image: Elliot Love, Golf Cabriolet // Ponsonby, Oil on Canvas, 750 x 750 mm
You’re known for depicting cars from the 1980s and 90s placed in quiet, almost cinematic urban settings. What first drew you to that subject matter, and why does it continue to resonate with you?
When my friends and I all started getting our licenses and first cars during high school, all we drove were the boxy Japanese cars from the 80’s and 90’s. Civics, Starlets, 323’s, Sentras etc. Cheap cars, it didn’t matter how shabby they were. This would have been 2014/15 for us.
Once I got back into painting, and was properly focussed on the urban landscape, it was late 2018/early 2019. I had already noticed how few of the cars that we used to drive in highschool were still around. The idea for my series simply stemmed from wanting to capture and preserve the era of cars that we had built so many lasting memories in. It has branched out over time, but I think the initial excitement for this series will be with me for a very long time.
Image: Elliot Love, ’68 Mustang // Queen Street, Oil on Canvas, 1010 x 1520 mm
What role does photography play in your process – do you use it as a reference or more as a starting point that you then transform in the studio?
I’m constantly photographing. Photography allows me to catch a huge amount of visual information in a very short space of time. My larger works can take 2-4 months, so photography helps distill information that I could never do En Plein Air.
My next steps afterwards are usually around removing anything I don’t deem necessary – I’ll frequently remove other cars from the scene to ’empty it out’, and create heightened emphasis on the subject car. Sometimes more modern vehicles help to emphasise the gap in time I’m wanting to portray, other times they are unnecessary clutter and get removed altogether.
Image: Elliot Love, 323 // South Dunedin, Oil on Canvas, 200 x 200 mm
What have been your career highlights to date?
Ever since I shook off accademia in 2018 and got back into this, everyday has been a highlight.
Image: Elliot Love, Avenger // Twilight, Oil on Canvas, 765 x 1020mm
How do you imagine yourself, your practice, to look in 10 years time?
It’s difficult to tell. On one hand, it is getting harder to find the exact “80’s and 90’s” era of cars that got me started in 2019. The scenes have slowly branched out overtime and allowed me to focus more on compositional importance e.g., symmetry, placement of important structures, use of proximity/empty space. On another hand, I have an extensive archive of images to study, and could be continuing on the exact same path for a very long time. Whatever it will be, I’m very sure it will be situated in the Urban Landscape, and have as meticulous a process as I do now. The geometric nature of the boxy, hard-edged Japanese cars from the mid/late 80’s has created an addiction in me for playing and tweaking with the Urban landscape in a more general sense. Triangular shapes, wide open vs. sharper angle street scenes, perspective. I’m keen to see where all of this takes the work.
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