Elly Smallwood’s Paintings Explore the Rawness of the Human Body

The human body changes depending on the viewer. And no one understands this notion better than Elly Smallwood, a Canadian-based illustrator whos work focuses exclusively on human forms.

Originally from Ottawa, Smallwood graduated from OCAD University in 2011. Her artworks, mostly painted using oil, acrylic, and watercolour, are a personal exploration of the human body, either hers or the people surrounding her.

“The female form has been a battlefield in art history,” she argues, in an interview for Playboy Magazine. “Male painters painted it for their own pleasure; female painters painted it to reclaim it and give it agency.”

She believes her intimate paintings tell the untold stories of women.

Take a closer look below.

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Some sketches shipping out to patreon supporters

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Sketches from the last week

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Study of some little fishies

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