Paintings Capture The Essence of The City

Elliot Appel, elliotappelpaints.com, creates paintings that capture old New York City and Hoboken storefronts, with their graffiti-covered doorways, city grime and sharp perspective. His images both confront and draw the viewer into the mesmerizing cinematic-like worlds that he creates with superb attention to light, shadow and details.

He has developed a loyal following within the New York metropolitan area and beyond. He also creates many works of art on commission.

Banner image: Detail of Carnegie Deli,  acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 24″

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT REPRODUCE IMAGES WITHOUT THE ARTIST’S PERMISSION.

View From Warren Street, acrylic on canvas, 14″ x 18″

Elliot calls our attention to stimulating visual sites that surround us, as he succeeds  in his desire to capture “details of everyday life that people may not notice or take for granted as they rush from place to place.”

His paintings remind us of the iconic images of American artists like John Sloan or Edward Hopper, who were influenced by film, and whose crisp, light-flooded interpretations on modern realistic street scenes inspired American film sets for decades.

Washington Street Reflected, acrylic on canvas 20″ x 16″

Elliot has exhibited his work at The Painting Center in Chelsea, Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, the Monmouth Museum and the Ridgewood Art League. In recent years, he has had one person shows at the Hoboken Historical Museum and the Watchung Arts Center in New Jersey.

The artist was awarded First Place in Colors Of Humanity ‘Wet Paint’ online exhibition in 2023. His work has also been selected for exhibit by the National Oil And Acrylics Painters Society. His art was chosen by the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts for their 112th Annual Juried Exhibition, 2023.

In 2024 one of Elliot’s paintings was selected for “The Healing Power of Color” 2024 Invitational Exhibition, presented by The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS, an initiative of Manhattan Arts International. In 2023 one of his paintings was juried into “The Healing Power of Art: Love, Peace, Unity & Hope” online exhibition also presented by The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS.

Montgomery Street Morning, acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 12″

Born in New York City in 1952 Elliot has been painting for almost 40 years. As a child, he was fascinated by film and frequently sketched pictures of the celebrities he admired to see if he could capture a likeness. He continued sketching throughout high school, and his first major encouragement was finishing second place in a poster-making contest for a play that was to be performed at his school.

View From The Fountain, acrylic, 20″ x 16″

Subsequently, he enrolled in New York’s City College, registering for a degree in liberal arts but left college after one year to travel in Israel. In between jobs, the artist  spent the next few years traveling through Europe, fortifying the education he’d begun with trips to museums in Paris, Geneva, Florence, Milan, Venice, Rome and Athens. He spent time in public squares, sketching the scenes around him, preparing the groundwork for future paintings.

Carnegie Deli, acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 24″

In his early twenties, Elliot sold the first of many paintings in the photo realistic style that has come to define his art, a cathedral in acrylic paint, based on a photo from a magazine.

Elliot is currently an exhibiting member of Pro Arts Jersey City as well as the SHIM Art Network on Artsy.net. He is the recipient of several awards and has developed a loyal following within the tri-state area.

He is also featured in the article “See How Art Transforms Room”.

Visit Elliot Appel’s website: ElliotAppelPaints.com

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