homerule - Dana Ellyn | Contemporary Narrative Painter

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home rule(s)

Painting of a woman laughing in a red chair, holding a tipped wine glass, in a turquoise room with floral curtains, inspired by DC Home Rule.

Home Rule(s)

30" x 40"

oil on chipboard

$580

purchase/inquire

August 2025

The title nods to Washington, DC’s contested “Home Rule” — the city’s struggle for autonomy under federal oversight — while also asserting domestic independence: in her home, she rules.

Like many of my paintings, it functions as a self-portrait — not visually, but emotionally — embodying my joy in autonomy and insistence on living by my own rules. Above the door to my studio hangs the words Sanctum Sanctorum, borrowed from Thomas Jefferson, marking the studio as a sacred space where creation and independence converge.

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