Ellen Leader (Painting)
Artist Statement
I grew up surrounded by art and music, and was a musician throughout my childhood and college. I always dabbled in art but music was more at the forefront. After college, I started working in human resources and got caught up for a while with my career. But in 2011, I was in between jobs and followed an instinct that told me to start really fully exploring painting. After taking a variety of courses for a couple years in different mediums and styles, I started to find my way.
I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures, languages, and seeing different ways of life. And so, many of my paintings are of my travels; and in a sense they're becoming my travel journal. I try to capture whatever it was that drew me to a scene in the first place - whether it was a mood, an angle, a view , or the light. I'm passionate about color and often use bold or bright or rich colors to capture the light. Above all, I want to add light to the world – I hope that comes through in my paintings.