THE UNKNOWN ARTIST

by
Maryann Miller

Ellie Taylor of Holly Lake Ranch in East Texas calls herself "The Unknown Artist." When asked why she said, "Because I came into this later in life and not many people are familiar with my work."

That could soon be changing if the response to her exhibit at The Winnsboro Gallery is any indication. A lot of people stopped by for the artist's reception on a recent rainy Friday evening and enjoyed meeting the artist and seeing her paintings.

There are currently 15 pieces on exhibit at the Gallery until May 2nd, and Gallery owner, Mary Smith, said she will keep five or six pieces after that. "I really like her work," Mary said. "The pictures reflect her personality; bright, bold, lots of exciting colors and contrasts.

"This is a good example," she continued, indicating the still life she's standing next to. "This is just wonderful."

Ellie said she didn't start painting until she was about 50 years old. She was teaching school in El Paso. "The art teacher came up to me one day and said I should study art," Ellie said. "She said that she had been watching me decorate my classroom for some time and saw that it was the work of an artist."

Ellie smiled at the memory, then continued her story. "So I took her advice and started taking art lessons."

She studied with Earline Barnes in El Paso, Texas for about 6 years. Then she decided she would retire from teaching after a 33 year career teaching all over Texas. She went back to college to study under Jo Taylor and Dr. Ollie Theisen.

Now she paints in a large studio - 1,100 square feet - that could be an airplane hanger. In fact, her husband, Larry, built it so it could one day be a hanger. "We live near the airstrip at Holly Lake," he explained. "So I figured it would make our property more appealing to someone else if it had a hanger. Plus, I thought if I made the studio large enough, I could have some space for some hobbies."

He laughed and said that didn't happen. But he also said he doesn't mind. He is proud of what Ellie has accomplished and supports her one-hundred percent.

Larry is a retired Baptist minister. His last church was the Hollybrook Baptist Church where he was pastor for fourteen years before retiring. He still does some hospital ministry and outreach ministry, but otherwise is not involved in church work.

Ellie paints whenever she can, and she said the work consumes her. "It's like I'm unconscious for two hours," she said.

Some of the things she paints are from something she sees, and others just come to her imagination. She has sketchbooks filled with drawings of things she would like to someday paint, and she said her favorite subject is "The one I do tomorrow."

While a lot of her subjects are landscapes, she does not like to do plein air painting. "I don't like the bugs," she said. "Or the sudden wind that will come up and blow dirt on the canvas."

She is currently working on a project she calls "Painting Across Texas", which is a collection of places around the state captured in her Impressionistic style. To see photos of some of those pictures click HERE

Some of the guests at the reception were Nelda Pearce, a friend of Ellie's, pictured here on the left with Lynn Adler.

Jane St. Romain was also there with her sister Judy and her husband Mike Dubuc, who were visiting from Dayton Ohio. The couple likes to come down once or twice a year and really enjoy Winnsboro.

(Pictured L-R: Judy Dubuc, Jane St. Romain, Margit Iguchi, and Mike Dubuc.)

Ellie grew up in Houston and when she was in second grade she had a drawing displayed at the Houston Museum of Art. "It was some kind of student exhibit," she said. "And I don't even remember much about the drawing. But on my next trip down there, I'm going to stop by and tell them I'm a real artist now. Maybe they will want to exhibit some of my work."

Bright and bold. No doubt about it. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Houston Museum takes a serious look at her paintings.