Ellen Anderson

I paint in my studio on the Milwaukee River in Mequon, Wisconsin. As an eco-feminist artist, the oils on canvas include a large series of Wisconsin nature, and a growing series of Midwest Wise Women large portraits. The preservation of our wild areas is important to me, and I hope my statements in oil on canvas invite a closer look at the mystery and miracle and fragility of woodlands wild creatures and waters of Wisconsin. Using light and atmosphere to tell a story, the paintings often show a myth-like reality of a time and place of importance and power that only nature lends. You may notice the paintings are all nature, no human fences, roads, buildings etc.

The series of wise women, are portraits of Midwest women I know, elaborating on their power and strengths of gentleness, intelligence, connections with nature and more.

Working in watercolor/gouache for many years informs the often thin layers of atmosphere the oils start with. Painting small for illustrations have led me to now love painting large, to put a voice to the magic and majesty of our outdoors.

The oil paintings are in the collections of Outpost Foods, Remington’s River Inn, Hearthstone Community, Wright House, Bank First Cedarburg and many private collections throughout the country. Works have been in Alive in the Arts, Plymouth Arts Center (award), Wisconsin Wildlife Biennial, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay WI; at Boerner Gardens (solo show), Hidden River Arts Festival, Brookfield WI the Annual Juried Exhibition of the Cedarburg Artists Guild (blue ribbon) and more.