Ellen’s paintings strive to simplify the natural and built environments she sees, using a consistent palette of midtones, and focusing on everyday scenes. Manmade elements offer sharp contrast to the more fluid natural environment. Night scenes have a strong punch of lights against the night sky, revealing the muted and somewhat abstract shapes in the diminishing light. Rural scenes include barns, fences and powerlines surrounding fields and pastures. “Evening Walk” is part of a series of “Neighborhood Nocturnes” focusing on scenes from a daily after dinner walk and “Playing Fields” is new series juxtaposing bright playing surfaces with the natural landscape. Her landscapes are mostly American, depicting local Virginia landscapes and scenes from frequent trips to New England, California and Washington State.