Elena Mahoney, was born in 1979 in Ukraine, lived most of her life in Russia until she moving in United States in 2011.

Elena is a self-taught watercolor artist who started to paint with initial success and sell her art at a local Downtown Gallery in Omaha, NE back in 2015.

In 2023, she moved to the Caribbean and started dedicating most of her time to creating watercolor paintings. She likes to work on large formats and describes her paintings as spontaneous and transparent. Her palette is soft, with mainly bright colors guided by her emotions and feelings.

Today, Elena resides in Ocala, Florida, and dedicates 100 percent of her time to creating artwork.

Elena paints with devotion — the quiet, steady kind that notices the curve of a muzzle, the glint of sunlight on a braid of mane, the sparkle of life inside an animal’s eyes. Her watercolor work is rooted in extraordinary realism, yet softened by a gentle atmospheric touch that makes every piece feel alive and breathing.

Her horses are powerful but serene, captured with anatomical honesty and an intuitive grasp of their spirit. You can feel the softness of a velvety nose, the weight of the bridle, the warmth of muscle beneath the coat. Her canine portraits radiate personality — each whisker placed with deliberate care, each highlight revealing loyalty, joy, curiosity, or that unmistakable “love-my-human” glow.

Mahoney’s mastery lies not merely in detail, but in restraint. She allows the watercolor to whisper — letting pigments bloom softly, shadows dissolve into mist, and backgrounds fade into dreamy gradients. She paints essence as much as appearance, giving each portrait emotional resonance without sacrificing precision.

Her palette is natural, warm, and honest, drawing directly from the beauty of the animals she reveres. Whether capturing a foal nuzzling its mother, a dog gazing skyward, or a tiny bird singing from its perch, Mahoney’s work celebrates the pure, uncomplicated connection between viewers and the natural world.

Her paintings feel like moments held still — tender, elegant, and deeply human in the way they remind us of loyalty, trust, and quiet companionship.