Ethel Gittlin. USA

“I woke up one morning, many years ago, with an irresistible desire to paint. It seemed to come out of nowhere—shocking even to me. What began as a whim quickly became my life’s work.”

From that pivotal moment, Ethel Gittlin has pursued an artistic journey that spans diverse styles and mediums. Her practice has evolved from oils to photography combined with oils, from abstraction to semi-realism, and back again to abstraction—this time through spray paint and resin. Her most recent works are mixed media compositions incorporating French and European fashion magazines, her own digitally altered photographs, spray paint, acrylics, oils and oil sticks, along with both commercial and self-designed stencils. Each piece is finished with a hand-poured resin coating, giving her work a distinctive vibrancy and contemporary edge.

Describing her latest series, Ethel reflects: “Some things luxe. Some things not. Things I love to see. Things I love to touch. Passionate to the core.” (#fashionartculture). Her work celebrates the interplay between high fashion, personal memory, and tactile experience, creating what she calls a “new vibe” of layered artistic expression.

Beyond her studio practice, Ethel has devoted herself to mentoring foster teenage girls at SOS Children’s Villages in Coconut Creek, Florida for over eleven years, using painting as a vehicle for self-expression and empowerment. She considers this role as meaningful and rewarding for her as it is for the young women she mentors.

Her artwork is represented by Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, and Contemporary Art Gallery USA, Miami, and is included in numerous private and corporate collections. Her paintings have also been selected for U.S. Embassy collections in Moscow, Estonia, and Qatar, and she has exhibited at prestigious art fairs including Art Miami, Concept Art Fair, Miami, and Art on Paper, Pier 36, New York City.