Welcome to the studio of Ellen Anderson, located on the Milwaukee River in Mequon, Wisconsin. 

We visited Ellen in March, before things were in bloom, when the skies were still very grey most days. Even without the green of the coming months, I was left so charmed and in awe of her space. Just enough room to come in and focus on painting. And just steps from her house. 

The following photos are a compilation of some we took in March and some from the later months when the gardens flourished! 

WOODWALK 

Describe your work in three words

ELLEN

Invitations into Nature

WOODWALK 

What do you love about your chosen medium?

ELLEN

Oil paint is wonderful because of its richness of texture, its mixability, and it stays wet longer than other media, enabling you to leave it and come back with fresh eyes. 

WOODWALK

Tell us about the body of work you have at Woodwalk this year.

ELLEN

My suite of works feature Wisconsin landscapes that I love, for their colors, their intimacy or their distant vistas. Many feature wildlife seen in the moment. They are distillations of the wonders I see. 

WOODWALK 

What are some consistent aspects of your creative process?

ELLEN

Color play, light play, and layering are things I love. I love the abstractness of starting out with a three inch wide brush and blending, then later focusing in with illustrative strokes. I never pre-sketch landscapes; the concept is there and they just evolve. 

WOODWALK 

What does your ideal day in the studio look like?

ELLEN

I enjoy painting mainly in the afternoon for three or four hours at a time; summer best of all with windows open and nature all around, music on. 

WOODWALK

If you could go anywhere in the world for a creative residency, where would you go?

ELLEN

For a residency. I'd really enjoy the far spaces and colors of the southwest. 

WOODWALK

What inspires or influences you?

ELLEN

I am continually awed by nature, from seeds in their variety and their fantastic ways of spreading themselves- to the large and silent or small and wiley creatures living right beside us. In my painting, I am influenced by many years as an illustrator. 

WOODWALK

How has your work evolved over the years?

ELLEN

I now like to paint with oils and large. I used to paint small in watercolor. 

WOODWALK

Is there was another medium you'd enjoy exploring?

ELLEN

Sculpture!

WOODWALK

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

ELLEN

I get so excited about our natural environment that I hope people who see my work feel invited into the painting to share in the moment.