Meet Elijah Ford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elijah Ford.

Elijah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m from the Inland Empire, Montclair, California. I have two brothers and a sister, and I’m greatly inspired by my whole family, especially my parents. I grew up around art as my father is an artist, graphic designer, and an art educator. I believe art is in my genes, and am thankful for my dad’s influence. He’s worked in painting a lot, and typically depicts our family and scenes of Africa, his paintings are really beautiful. They’ve been in every home I’ve lived in, and have been in my mind and heart my whole life.

When I was a kid we had some character building trials as a family, like when we had to move from our house to a small two-bedroom apartment. My mother started homeschooling me when I was in fifth grade, I feel it could have been the best option to homeschool my little brother and I. With homeschooling I got used to doing things at my own pace and in my own way. I went to Cal State University San Bernardino for college, and majored in painting. It felt like a world away from home even though it was only 7 miles from my parents’ house. I loved it. I learned oil painting there, which started my whole practice. It was a new beginning.

After college I worked at a spa with my brother in Pasadena, doing painting commissions on the side, and building my portfolio. That was my year off between undergrad and Gradschool, I then went to Calarts and basically lived in my studio, I had so much fun during that time. After grad school I moved to Detroit. In the first neighborhood I lived in I newly experienced a food desert and had an intimate time with the abandoned blocks. So quiet, green and isolating. I remember it rained everyday that summer, fireflies. I got into screen printing in Detroit and found how an ideal community should function. So much happened in that community, I felt welcomed and loved like family even though I had just arrived. I spent about 3 years there. Then a close friend of mine lost his life in a car accident, Things became really heavy for me, I wanted to heal and help heal so It felt like it was time to move back to LA.

I moved back on election day 2016. When I first returned to California I would paint anywhere I could while I didn’t have a space; at my parents’ house, friends’ houses when they’d have me, in my room. Painting has always been consistent in my life. So far the journey has been nice, I feel like I lucked out and either I know how to be happy through anything or great things are happening always. I find maturity liberating. I support my practice (studio, car, apartment ect.) assisting with installations at galleries and museums.

Has it been a smooth road?
My career has grown slowly and organically, with some ups and downs. Grief has been a catalyst in my painting practice, I try to paint through the pain. And things can be a little chaotic as far as income and global events affecting my happiness and motivation, but I remember to stay positive and be thankful so many people have my back. When I don’t prioritize my practice, I can become very lost. It is easy to want to take a very long break when the road gets a little rough and collect my psyche through less creative outlets, but when I am at a low, I usually find myself working on something, it’s a great reminder of my values. Whenever I am having a hard time, I tell myself “this right here is actually the best time of your life, you’re going to miss this,” and it helps me appreciate the situation. So many things happened this year and are still happening. As a black man, I expect the road to be rocky, and I was born an off-road luxury vehicle with ancestral resilience.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I have an art exhibition up at Aero Salon, it runs October 3rd through the end of the year. The show is of these large paintings I have been making. Since March, Aero Salon Los Angeles offered me a large studio space and stretchers, it’s been a well-timed residency situation. I was able to complete a 10’×13’ diptych as well as many other new investigative works. The show depicts a reconfiguration of actual life, it has a lot of personal references and can take time to read and be digested. Every painting went through a different thought process. My work can be figurative, sharp, psychedelic, loose and abstract. I like to give myself rules and then break them, or break tradition and then reconstruct. One painting leads to another, creating an image capture of this important life.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I feel like Los Angeles seems to be unraveling, much like the rest of the country, but it’s more visceral here. Every city has a different type of pressure about it, but Los Angeles is a very good place not only for what I do, but for what I want to do, because of the community here. There are a lot of visual artists and creative people here, the community is present. If someone was just starting out, I would suggest to work really hard and look to grow naturally in whatever you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: Elijahford.com
• Email: Elijah.e.ford@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Sanelijah

Image Credit:
Ray Spectrum took my personal photo in the street

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