Chelsea Open Air Nursery School

I have donated this drawing of the Chelsea Open Air Nursery School for their silent auction. The building is beautiful and as I found out today on their open day it's a brilliant environment for the development of the children of pre-school age. The nursery has also published a wonderful book called 'Food For Thought' with a story about the school and family recipes, photographs and drawings. Very inspiring!

Jim Chanos

Mr Jim Chanos won a bid to get a portrait done by me in a charity action, Invest in Futures Gala, organized by the Prince's Trust in 2008. I'm now very proud to show you the portrait I have done of him based on a photography from the artist Shirin Neshat. I hope you like it!

El Senor Jim Chanos gano una puja en una subasta benefica del Prince's Trust para que yo le hiciera un retrato. Estoy muy orgullosa de ensenaros el retrato que le he hecho basado en una fotografia de la artista Shirin Neshat. Espero que os guste!

The Serpentine

I am very pleased to show you my latest painting, The Serpentine. A piece of London auntumn colours! Thank you Mireia and Toni for your patience. I hope that the wait was worth while! Best wishes, Elena

Kensington Palace

Christmas has come early for Alejandro thanks to his wife Myriam, my dearest friend! Now they can enjoy at home my latest painting of 'Kensington Palace'!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY 2010 TO ALL!
La Navidad ha llegado con antelacion para Alejandro gracias a su mujer Myriam, mi querida amiga! Ya pueden disfrutar en casa de mi ultimo cuadro del Palacio de Kensington!
FELIZ NAVIDAD Y FELIZ 2010 A TODOS!

Stanmore College Speech

On the 3rd December I was invited to give a speech to prospective students for International Baccalaureate at Stanmore College in North London. As a student of IB from 1991-1993 myself, I spoke about my experience studying the Diploma and how it helped me in my career.

Reminiscing those years, I came across this wonderful photo of a mural I painted in the art classroom back in 1992. The mural is based on an Egyptian painting found in an anonymous royal tomb in 1260 b.C. It's called 'El Ostrakon de la Ballerina'. I chose it because I thought it was a very unusual painting compared to the hieratic Egyptian imagery that is more commonly known. This image proves that the egyptian artists painted with aesthetic liberty when painting for themselves.

I also did it because I didn't want the school to forget about me, and so, I made a permanent imprint. I think it actually worked! Sometimes I bump into younger students and they all remember the mural and the name of the person who did it.

Hope you like it!

Hugo

I'm happy to present you with my latest painting, a portrait of Hugo, a lifely, charming and very clever two year old!
Tengo el placer de ensenaros ni ultimo cuadro, el retrato de Hugo, un nino de dos anos alegre, encantador y muy inteligente!

Dimbleby Lecture 2009

I had the honour and priviledge to attend the Dimbleby Lecture 2009 given by the Prince of Wales at St James's Palace. It was a heartfelt lecture and very inspiring. After the lecture there were some drinks and canapes in the gardens. There I had the chance to meet and speak to Prince Charles, who shook my hand and wouldn't let go, said had heard about my successes... and laughed at the idea of the portrait I did of him!; the Duchess of Cornwall who had to be introduced twice to me because I froze; the actor Michael Sheen (played in 'Frost/Nixon' and Blair on 'The Queen')who is now Ambassador to the Prince's Trust and who was extremely friendly and kind to me (Michael, I'm waiting for your blog comment!); and other interesting people from other Prince's Charities and the BBC. Overall, it was a great night and I'm still diguesting it all!

To read the full transcript on the lecture- Click here

Video of the lecture is no longer available due to right issues. What a shame!