By Michele Malinchak
Once a year, artist Holly Markhoff comes up with a painting that, according to her, ‘ticks off every check box.’ She may set a high bar, but many would say that more often than not her expressive paintings reach that level of perfection.
Best known for her stylized figurative work, she has been influenced by the elongated figures of Amedeo Modigliani and the gilding of Gustav Klimt. Henri Matisse’s bold simplification of form is also evident in her work. “Sculpture also inspires me and suggests poses and movement for my paintings,” she said. She is particularly drawn to the sculptures of Henry Moore and his abstractions of the human figure.
Holly is a contemporary mixed media artist, using fabric and paper in addition to thick applications of paint that give her paintings a textural, sculptural quality. Like Klimt, she loves the effect of gold, and embellishes most of her pieces with metallic spray, liquid paint or gold leaf. “Ninety-eight percent of my work has it,” she said, adding, “I like the subtle elegance of gold highlights to show through.”
Her work is also characterized by a high polished look similar to ceramics or glass. She achieves this glass-like translucence by applying up to 10 coats of varnish to glaze her work, often varnishing five to six paintings at a time. “Sometimes I will rub away to show a color beneath and the varnish glaze pulls the texture and colors together into a cohesiveness.” In her figurative work entitled, “Sharing Tales,” she painted the background in red oxide, allowing it to show through in some areas, especially in the outlines of the figures.
Holly typically uses acrylic paint or even latex house paint, often wearing gloves to spread it on the canvas. “I’ve also used powdered pigments which requires spraying clear acrylic over them and using a respirator mask, but it’s not as safe,” she said.
Her work stems almost entirely from her imagination and powers of observation. “I constantly study the world around me for my inspiration,” she said. “I note color combinations in nature, on buildings, in fabric. I people watch and look at the clothes they wear, the way they walk, talk and interact.” She has a vivid memory for recalling color combos and looks through Pantone books to inspire her to use new colors.
To create her compositions, she sketches her observations which, she said, “will be expressed over and over in pen and ink sketches or directly onto a canvas.” Her paintings include figurative, floral, landscape, abstract expressionist and Judaica work.
Seeking a free-form look, her work is free flowing and unsymmetrical. She wants the eye to travel all around the painting and likes working on large canvases at least three or four feet high. Holly takes photos of her work at every stage so she can check her progress. “I even look at them in bed!” she said.
The figures in her paintings are generic and not people she knows. “I want them to look like they could be anyone’s friend or family,” she said. “My figurative paintings are joyful and take more emotional energy to paint.”
Positivity and joy are recurring themes throughout her work. With titles such as “Delightful,” “Tranquil Moment,” “Enchanted” and “Blissful Dance,” we see the subjects happily engaged in their activities. “I want to bring something uplifting into my work,” she said.
Holly began painting professionally about 20 years ago, but her background in art goes back much further. Though she was born in New York City, she and her twin brother, Hal, grew up in Alexandria, Virginia in a creative environment. “My mom had a handful of beautiful paintings in our home, and loving art rubbed off on both of us,” she said.
Both her parents had an interest in culture and the arts and engaged their children in them. Her father, an engineer, painted and made pottery in a kiln they had in their house. The family would tack large canvases to the walls and paint murals together. Living near the Potomac River, Holly would often go there to paint.
Her mother was a writer who wrote articles for newspapers and magazines like Women’s World, the Alexandria Gazette and National Enquirer. Holly remembers a group of puppeteers coming to the house to be interviewed by her.
Her mother was also a ghost writer whose work included a newspaper medical column for a doctor and writing sermons for priests.
In high school Holly had a transformative teacher who made art an integral part of her life. Still, she always viewed art as something you do, not something to earn a living. She played with the idea of becoming a lawyer or journalist and took some courses in those fields before deciding on a career in counseling. Majoring in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, she earned her BA in 1989, She then began graduate course work in rehabilitation counseling while working as a counselor helping to mainstream people that had debilitating, long term mental illness.
Even while working in the mental health field, art was always a large part of her identity. She took courses in ceramics at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and printmaking at the Visual Arts Center of Virginia.
In addition to being a rehab counselor, Holly worked as a pre-school teacher and pre-school art specialist for a number of years. She’s also been a part-time Hebrew and Judaic studies teacher as well as an art specialist in Synagogue Hebrew Schools for more than 25 years.
Holly is the mother of two children, a son and a daughter. As they became older and more independent, her career path in the art world became a reality. She entered her paintings in a local art festival in Richmond, Virginia, called ‘Arts Around the Lake.’ “When all of them sold,” she said, “I was encouraged to paint more.”
She always had a studio wherever she lived. Currently she paints in an old school building in the museum district of Richmond. “When I walk into my studio I may not feel centered or at ease, but by the time I walk out I always do. It’s a cathartic experience,” she said.
Inspired by other artwork, she frequently visits the Virginia Museum of Fine Art which is only four blocks from her studio.
Her painting “Silent Celebration,” pictured here, is currently on display at the Bernard Heller Museum in New York City. It will be part of a traveling exhibit called ‘Seeking Joy’ and is featured on the cover of the program. You can see the use of metallic gold and multiple layers of paint that create its rich texture.
The painting, which was done doing the Covid pandemic, features three women wearing party hats, though their expressions are somber. Holly said their message is, “that we have to move forward, to go on in life and find joy. To be humble in the knowledge that there is someone around you in pain.”
She’s grateful to do something she loves and feels fortunate to have met wonderful people along the way. “I’ve worn many hats to evolve to here,” she said, “which I guess is the lifelong path of growth and finding ourselves.”
Holly exhibits her smaller work at the Crossroads Art Center in Richmond, VA. She also exhibits her work at Stravitz Sculpture & Fine Art Galleries, Virginia Beach, VA. In Bucks County. Holly’s paintings can be viewed at www.hollymarkhoff.com.
In Bucks County Holly Markoff Paintings are available at the Rich Timmons Fine Art Gallery located at 3795 Route 202, Doylestown, PA. For more information, call 215-262-1634 or visit www.richtimmons.com.
Michele Malinchak is a freelance writer who has a degree in art and enjoys oil painting.