Ellen is one of Austin's outstanding plain air and figurative artist.

Mentors

She has studied under many of America's finest painters including Carolyn Anderson, Sherry McGraw and Kevin McPherson.

She had an intensive two year mentoring program with John Cosby.

Current Locale

Ellen paints primarily in Texas and California.

Current Gallery representation

She is represented by Rieser Fine Art in Camel California.

Her Goal

Her goal is to reflect goodness, truth and beauty in all her work.

Early Years: Family and Education

Ellen grew up in a ranching family in Corsicana, Texas. She graduated from Southern Methodist University.

After raising her three children and being one of the founders of a classical and Christian school in Austin, Texas, she has devoted herself to creating art that reflects the glory of God.

Thesis

Each artist has a philosophy and a style. An artist’s philosophy evolves from how one makes sense of the sum of life’s experiences. An artist’s style develops naturally through study, careful observation, and what one learns from master teachers.

Philosophy

At an early age, she developed a love for the created order and its beauty.

Later, her study of art history at Southern Methodist University gave her a deep appreciation for the artists that had gone before her and the realization that artists today stand on their shoulders. This study made her gravitate to art museums and galleries as she traveled.

She only dreamt that one day she would become a full time professional artist. Maintaining this dream, she began to study art as she raised her three children.

A defining philosophical moment came when she embarked on founding a classical and Christian school in Austin. While having to think through the mission statement for the school, there was an epiphany; “To know, love and practice that which is true, good and beautiful.” This became not only the mission of the school, but the philosophy of her art.

Style

Because the created order contains such variety, Ellen loves many different types of subjects. She finds herself studying under many different types of artists.(See below for partial list)

This impressive list of teachers gives her the ability to paint a wide variety of subjects. Ellen senses a great debt to each of these artists who has taken the time to teach her their craft. These teachers and her own experimentation contribute to Ellen’s unique style.

Capturing the three dimensional world on a two dimensional canvas is always a challenge. Her orchestration of light, shadow, color, edges and brushwork gives her compositions a stunning yet peaceful quality.