Elysium 34 - Landscape Oil Painting

Heavily inspired by the majestic sunsets and ethereal light, Kris Ancog’s new body of work ‘Elysium’ seeks to capture the experience of the infinite and the transcendent.

Mostly referencing the semi-abstract landscape paintings by JMW Turner, Ancog builds layers of oil on textured under paintings to achieve the translucent and vibrant colours reminiscent of works of the old maters. However, he illuminate the landscapes with his expert use of tonal values utilising a contemporary palette that brings comforting warmth and elevating luminosity. The compositions are not based on particular place but rather imagined images of tumultuous yet serene vista, allowing us the experience the sublime.

Ancog’s Elysium series aims to evoke a sense of what is beyond us that we cannot comprehend. It invites us to question our dissociation from the sublime and have a renewed experience of it from a contemporary portrayal of the vastness of nature.

Medium: Oil
Support: Linen
Frame: Dark Wood Floating Frame
Ready to hang
Comes with Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist

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Kris Ancog is a Sydney-based artist who uses art as a visual storytelling method; evoking emotions, and experiences that are beyond words.

Calling himself a painter of meditative dreamscapes, the artist channels creativity to explore beauty, peace, and serenity. Over the years, his work has evolved from traditional landscapes to ethereal abstracts that allow the viewer to develop their own interpretation through a contemplative process.

Kris develops his artworks through multiple translucent layers of paint with wide flat brushes, referencing photos and videos as guides for colour schemes or the behaviour of light in a landscape. As such, the paintings become heavily inspired by light in nature and meditation, as well as art from European 19th-century artists, J. M. W. Turner and Claude Monet. His most popular series, reveal the ethereal, magical effect of light: the Aurora Illuminata series. Evoking positive emotions, the paintings bring a sense of peace and calm to his collectors.

Thanks to the layers, small paintings can take from hours to a week, and large works taking several weeks to months — as such, the artist is often at work on multiple projects. Using a delicate palette with mainly with acrylic and oil or sometimes inks and resin, Kris sets out to capture light in nature. It all depends on the vision — maximising either the shorter drying time for acrylics which achieves a sense of movement or the versatility of oils which allows time to blend without drying.

Over a decade ago, while Kris was working as a full time registered nurse, he felt the pull to recover the creative life from childhood. Pursuing art gave him a sense of balance and provided the artist with a unique way of telling stories about life and dreams through colours and forms.

Kris established Sanctum Gallery in Randwick NSW in 2021. It is a space dedicated to showing his ethereal dreamscapes. The artist relishes in the joy from his collectors’ feedback — how the paintings inspire them and bring positivity in their homes. As for Kris, this creative life was just once a dream, and he has learned that it takes a lot of hard work, patience and faith to turn dreams into reality. His mantra, “to pursue excellence and achieve my highest potential.”