Mrs. Elaine Ballou Yates' Obituary
Yates, Elaine Ballou
Born in Duluth, MN on Dec. 5, 1923, died Aug. 21, 2017 at age 93 – a St. Petersburg Resident, Artist, Pianist, Animal Enthusiast & Art Supporter. From an early age Elaine traveled with her parents Lyman and Thelma, as they pursued career on the stages, both in music and theatrical productions. In her late teens, she attended Pratt Institute in NYC, where her focus in art and illustration was refined as her working career began. Hired in the booming textile industry, her talents to detail provided a job in designing new cloth patterns to be used in the garment and fabric industries.
After departing the New York scene, she frequently visited St. Petersburg, FL where her grandparents and Mother resided. Work at the Miami Herald brought her to Miami, where her artistry was featured weekly in the newspaper. As a commercial artist, she created beautiful renditions of high-end furnishings for major retailers. There she met her husband Sheldon who was a jazz musician whose family lived in Key West. Elaine loved jazz and also played the piano. She has only one child, a boy who passed after only a few weeks of life. Later an illness took Sheldon’s life while only in his mid 50’s. She continued her work while sketching routinely with a close group of friends in the Miami area. The results include two books “Key West’ and “Miami Waterfront”. In the early 90’s her mother Thelma’s health failed before passing. This brought Elaine back to the Euclid/St. Paul area of St. Petersburg. Elaine loved the moon and took many photos of it, how appropriate she departed this world the evening of the recent eclipse.
Her first book is “Illustrations of Old San Juan-Puerto Rico” with others following, sketching Miami, Key West, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, St. Augustine, and more. In addition, her unique use and artistic style of creating large drawn scrolls makes her a pioneer in mixed media expressions. Her unique ability to “sketch on the fly” produced truly remarkable results. Highlighting work includes illustrations on a scroll featuring “Ancient Egypt Exhibition”, which was an exhibit featured here in St. Petersburg.
An avid art collector, Elaine often visited many local art galleries, including her friend’s Lynn Merhige Gallery. She would still pick up “pen and pencil” to amaze those in her company, all with fine attention to detail, actively sketching her surroundings. After a friend’s encouragement, she eventually approved of the idea of creating coffee table style hard cover books of her artwork. In 2009, US Artists Group, LLC came to fruition, followed by the Zoo Studios in 2013.
Elaine is survived by her dear friend and companion, James McNeely; long time friend, Billy Scarborough and many other close friends. Her sweet smile and warm presence will be missed by all. Her work can be viewed at WWW.EBYates.com In Lieu of flowers, please donate to Friends of Stray in Elaine’s Memory, as she always loved cats and eagerly contributed to help felines.
Funeral will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home, located at 5750 49th St. No. in St. Petersburg, FL on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017 at 11:00 am.
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