My artistic process when it comes to creating is to say something about the world we are living in.

However, there is no «fixed deal» in my paintings. I like people to search for themselves and see what they can find. Most of my artwork can be interpreted in different ways.

In our busy, modern, but often cruel world it is important to reflect about things. Most of us are very busy. There is a stream of «inputs» hitting us every second, and lot of it we accept, simply because we don`t have time to reflect over it.

It is important to think, make our own reflections, and in that way to get a vision.

What eventually can make my art stand out from the crowd, is maybe the possibility for the viewers to see and interpret the work in different ways, and also the chance of discovering new elements all the time.

However, the image is only one part of the painting. Just as important are: composition, use of colors, painterliness and texture.

In addition I have a trademark in all my work: Yin & Yang. A small black and white couple who always are somewhere in my paintings. They are inspired from Chinese philosophy: The two black and white drops of water that together form a perfect circle. They are counterparts, black/white, male/ female, warm/ cold etc. that together form a unity.

The stroke pair

The pair in black and white (Yin and Yang) was utilized for the first time in 1983, mainly to create depth- and perspective effects. Today the stroke pair has found its natural place in all of Elling Reitans’s works on an equal level as the artist’s own signature.