Growing up in a small town in southeast Michigan, Ellen was inspired and intrigued by hikes in the woods and canoe trips down the Huron River; always playing with new materials and experimenting in paint. She began her education at Arizona State University and then transferred to Michigan State University to finish her degree, graduating with a BFA in Studio Art.

 

While living in Miami, Ellen's process was developed. Entranced by the ocean and it's tides, she made hundreds of sketches, paintings and studies of water movement and it's shifting colors, resulting in a water-based and transcendental type practice.

 

Ellen and her husband now live in Ann Arbor, MI.