Meet Cathy Ellis | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cathy Ellis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cathy, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
For me painting feels right. It’s such an amazing balance of mind puzzle and physical work and the results are often surprising. I took my first drawing and painting classes at community college in San Francisco in my early 20s, just for fun really, because I was new to the city and didn’t know many people. I was hooked. It was more complicated to figure out the career part, I spent some years working terrible day jobs, bored and frustrated. I’m grateful to be in a studio art environment all the time now, either working in my own studio or working with students. The courageous vulnerability of an artistic career also drew me in. You need confidence to make something and put it out in the world, but it’s also this terrifically awkward risk, where you try to infuse meaning within an object and then hope other people will share in that with you.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Since the pandemic started I’ve been really excited about working on paintings that capture my immediate environment. I just finished a series called The Tender Air, a group of paintings I created after exploring the semi-developed land around Cal State Channel Islands, where I live. This area runs several miles between the Santa Monica Mountains and Oxnard Plain, about 50 minutes north of DTLA. It includes an abandoned dairy farm, open ranch land, several low mountains and marshes, fire roads, and just a ton of biodiversity and animal life. With the world shut down to a certain extent, I did a lot of exploring that I never would have done otherwise, and the paintings reflect that environment.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The LA area has everything, it’s hard to decide!

I love to take a group of friends out to Santa Cruz Island for the day, see a bunch of whales and dolphins if we’re lucky, and then stop by my local favorites, Topa Topa or Establos for food and drinks. My favorite museum is the Getty, and the view of LA from the back balcony can’t be beat.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My partner and sweetheart Aurora Valentine has offered a huge amount of support, love and encouragement, so my shoutout here goes to her! She’s an artist, teacher and creator too, so our household is full of great conversations and feedback that relates to both of our careers. Some people have asked me whether it’s hard to be part of a couple with another artist, like maybe it could get competitive or worry about finances too much or whatever. For me it’s been the opposite, we learn and grow and support each other.

Website: http://www.cathyellisprojects.com

Instagram: @cathyellisprojects