Artist's Exhibit A Colorful Part Of A Big Picture

Eliane Markoff, painter and Wellesley resident, is showcasing her art this month at the Wakelin Room of the Wellesley Free Library.

She hung her paintings last Thursday, unloading them from her car at about 11 a.m., taking care to place them in the right spots, next to works that complement each other.

Markoff has lived in Wellesley for 31 years.  When she got married, she lived in Waltham, and her husband, Gary, lived in Boston, so the town seemed a good midpoint to settle down in. Their decision to live in town isn't very exciting, she said, but they've enjoyed their time here.

Markoff wasn't always an artist. She used to instruct at Babson College, teaching business classes on organization and team management.

These days, she works on her art, which is displayed at the SoWa Artist's Guild exhibit space at 450 Harrison Ave. in Boston with more than 40 other artists. Eleven of her peers there are partnered with her in the Art In Giving Reward and Recognition Program. The artists encourage businesses to gift their employees with works of art as a token of appreciation for outstanding work. Hopefully, she said, the practice will become as popular an idea as giving awards and plaques.

To participate, a business or organization need only visit the Art in Giving Web site, select a painting and request limited edition prints of the work. Half of the proceeds from the program go to the Rachel Molly Markoff Foundation, a non-profit organization named after Markoff's daughter, who died in 1992 of an inoperable brain tumor, a stem glioma.

The foundation uses 100 percent of the Art in Giving funds it receives to aid organizations supporting children and their families affected by pediatric cancer. The charity is administered by volunteers, so there are no operating costs, according to the organization's website.

Markoff started painting for self-therapy in 1998, and began selling paintings to aid the foundation. But Art in Giving has only been in operation for about a year, she said.

"The way I like to think about it (Art in Giving) is not just a charity," Markoff said, but a combination of business, philanthropy and art. For the idea to work, she said,  "Someone has to like the idea of recognizing someone with art."

The idea got a boost about five years ago when Boston Private Bank purchased 50 copies of her painting, "Flowers for Hope". There's a print of the work at Newton Wellesley Hospital's lobby. The painting was jury selected by the WGBH Art Committee for the Two Collection Auction in 2000. 

Art in Giving artists include oil painters, watercolor painters, sculptors and photographers, all members of the SoWa Artists Guild of Boston (www.sowaartists.com).   The artists include:

John Borchard www.johnborchard.com

Marian Dioguardi www.mariandioguardi.com

Joanne Tarlin Franklin www.joannesgallery.com

Karen Kelleher www.karenkelleher.com

Robin Kimball www.robinkimballartist.com

Debby Krim www.dkrim.com

Barbara Leiner www.barbaraleiner.com

Eliane Markoff www.elianemarkoff.com

Ellen Rolli www.ellenrolli.com

Steve Silver www.silverwoodsstudio.com

Beverly Woods 

Markoff's paintings will remain at the Wakelin Room until the end of the month.