Painter and sculptor Ella Watson recently moved to Bozeman in August with her Husband, Dr. Ryan Anderson, an Assistant Professor at MSU, and their son, Auggie. Though Ella recently moved from New York City, she is originally from the Appalachians, and was raised in Blacksburg, VA, home of Virginia Tech, making her feel very at home in Bozeman’s mountain college atmosphere. She received two degrees in Painting & Printmaking and Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University. In the past she has worked as a fabricator for movies and shops, and as art teacher at the elementary and collegiate levels. In 2010, Ella self-published Liverwurst, a compilation of images and writings she created while waiting for a liver transplant, which is available on Amazon.

Coming from New York City, Ella is interested in contemporary abstract art, though remains fascinated with the natural characteristics of Bozeman and the surrounding areas. Her recent paintings, on exhibit at Wild Joe’s Coffee Spot until mid February, are loosely inspired by the local landscape. For example, “Bones” is based on sun-bleached bones found in Yellowstone. These natural aspects of the local area serve as loose jumping off points for her work, though Ella is ultimately loyal to the process of creation than to any specific image or landscape.

Ella’s recent work serves as a larger metaphor for Earth formations and life in general. By building up multi-colored layers of cold wax and oil paint, Ella scrapes away the wax to reveal the colors below. Often using the scrapings elsewhere in the work, this additive/subtractive process mimics the evolution of landforms as well as singular life. By adding and taking, rearranging and reevaluating, the Earth reorganizes itself, making the rich surroundings we see around Bozeman. The same can be said for a person’s life: when things are taken and given, when changes happens, one is forced to adapt thus creating their life story. In her work, Ella values challenges, as they force her to rethink her work in order to bring the paintings to their full potential.