Ellen started drawing as soon as she could hold a pencil. From an early age she was attracted to bright colours and always wanted coloured paper and pencils as birthday and Christmas gifts. “My parents were also creative and had art books that I would read at a very young age… even though a number of the images gave me nightmares.”

 

Although art was her favourite subject at school, she had other interests and was encouraged to keep art as a hobby. Early in her non-art career she started a side business called ‘Pawtraits’ and worked permanent night shift in order to be able to paint commissions during daylight hours. However, doing three commissions a week while working full time was not sustainable. Unfortunately her painting had to give.

 

For the following 20 years, Ellen's professional career and further studies competed with her creative passions, but she still managed to regularly complete some form of artwork including oil paintings, pastel drawings and mosaics.

 

Ellen doesn’t really have a favourite medium. She loves the human form and nature and the motivation to  create art is to understand and apply light and colour to create something attractive. As all mediums have a range of colours, it is circumstance and a desire to learn a new technique that has driven her creativity.  Her favourite artists are Michelangelo, Rembrandt, J.W. Waterhouse and Lawrence Alma Tadema.

 

Living on a farm with her husband and animals has provided the space and time for a level of creativity that she has never experienced before. With a new studio, Ellen is hoping this creativity continues to develop and grow.