Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Elly Smallwood is a figurative and portrait artist living in Canada. She works primarily in acrylics and oils.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:
Elly moving from Ottawa to the woods
The energetic differences she notices between living in a city versus being in the woods
Modern-day false prophets and gurus
The power of questioning dogmatic principles
Art capitalism
Trying to seek balance in the need to live a peaceful life, while simultaneously wanting to seek progression in one’s career
Elly’s experiences working with galleries
Growth through vulnerability
Her perspective of creating portraits of other people in contrast to creating portraits of herself
Model vs. muse
Elly’s bone collection
Tarot and its influence on Elly’s artwork
The Hermit and The Tower in the Major Arcana in Tarot
Elly training Muay Thai
Working through uncomfortable experiences

Artists / People Mentioned:
Nina Menkes (Film Director)

Books Mentioned:
The Richest Man In Babylon (George Samuel Clason)
The Kybalion (Three Initiates)
The Vegetarian (Han Kang)

Films / TV Series Mentioned:
Wild Wild Country
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Brainwashed: Sex, Camera, Power

artistdecoded.com
elly.ca
instagram.com/ellysmallwood

Artist Decoded Patreon: patreon.com/artistdecoded

Originally Posted 11.6.2022