Meet Mary Ellen

Most people that know me would say my personality is as multilayered as my artwork. In my opinion, layers are what make everything more beautiful and more interesting. Who wants to be boring? “Creating” is something that runs deep in my DNA for as long as I can remember. As a child, my grandmother “Nanny” taught me to sew, crochet, cook, and my favorite….garden! She not only taught me how to garden, she was actively planting her own seeds in me of CREATING.

I owe so much of who I am and what I love to do to her. She’ll never know how special those days gone by meant to me then, and even more so today. I went on to do custom framing at 18 years old for almost a decade at a frame shop/art gallery honing my skill by choosing frameworks that compliment the art or photographs, and my love of hands on approach of creating something unique and beautiful. This framing practice is what ultimately led me to start taking art classes and it quickly became a calling that then became a need. 

Since this realization, this experience opened up parts of me that were unknown and undeveloped and led to taking many classes over the last 20+ years to further develop my practice. These teachings have formed a vast understanding of MANY different mediums, therefore carrying various styles within each mediums finished result. I’m well versed in using Acrylic, India Ink on Yupo, Cold Wax, Oil Pastel, Watercolor, Encaustic Wax, Collage and Mixed Media. Recently, I’ve taken classes in 3D art forms using wire, plaster, and finishing the shapes with Encaustic wax, creating gorgeous organic forms that can be hung or simply sitting on shelves or furnishings. 

My painting process is richly layered, building gradually and intuitively toward a harmonious finale that feels complete. I allow shapes, colors, memories and strong compositions to guide my next move. My art is deeply influenced by my love of nature and spirituality. I’m a certified scuba diver and the world under the surface of the sea stored in my memory bank, will sometimes come through in my work. Floral motifs, inscriptions, water elements and organic forms frequently make their presence known in most pieces. I love COLOR and how using unexpected combinations can speed up my heart rate! 

This feeling is ultimately what I aim for everyone to feel in each of my artworks. A lightness, a flutter, a joy, a place or a memory from the past, an ease of presence. 

Life can be hard, art makes it easier. Period. 

All my best, 
Mary Ellen Wells