James
Ellis
James Ellis was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1961, and currently lives in Duluth, Minnesota. He began oil painting due to a back injury in 2019, that left him with permanent nerve damage, and as the injury prevented him from physical outdoor activities, he uses his years of travel to the American Southwest, Alaska, and especially Minnesota and the North Shore of Lake Superior, to provide natural composition for his work. Having spent countless hours over the past twenty years exploring the shoreline, hiking the trails and camping in the State Parks, the birch trees, rugged shoreline and waterfalls are all painted in his memory. Hearing the wind rustling the leaves, the waves hitting the shore and the water cascading over rocks, moves him to create.
As a child Ellis had no known artistic talent and only memories of a charcoal drawing in elementary school provided any reference for his talent, not to be discovered until 2019. Self-taught, and with limited instruction from Susan Taylor Tredway, he seeks to honor God’s creation, using the talent that he has been blessed with and follows the painting style rooted in 18th and 19th century realism or naturalism. As the artist explains, “I explore an historical and natural journey through time along the North Shore of Minnesota from Duluth to the Canadian border. Each landscape illustrates my interpretation in oil of the Arrowhead of Minnesota’s physical features, past and present. Featured works tell the stories of Lake Superior and its impact on the shoreline and man’s desire for progress versus the elements. Select works tell stories passed down through oral tradition depicting the significance of natural elements to the Ojibwe People. Although my work encompasses more than images of the North Shore, my primary focus and philosophy has been to preserve the natural composition that the North Shore of Lake Superior provides and document places that in time will be lost or forgotten."
Ellis’s artwork has been shown in exhibitions in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including the “Art and Photography at the Rock” exhibition at Split Rock Lighthouse in Two Harbors, Minnesota, the “Hygge” North Shore Artist League exhibition at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais, Minnesota, the “Living on the Edge” North Shore Artist League exhibition at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, "Past & Present", a solo exhibition at the Historic State Theater in Ely, Minnesota, and the "Fire, Earth, Air & Water" North Shore Artist League exhibition at the White Bear Center for the Arts, Ford Family Gallery in White Bear, Minnesota.
Education
Studied under: Susan Taylor Tredway
Professional Associations & Organizations
North Shore Artists League
Voyageur Artists
Artists of Minnesota
Awards
First Place in the Opaque Category at the 2024 Artists of Minnesota Spring Exhibition & Conference in Duluth, Minnesota.
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Past and Present - State Historic Theater, Ely, Minnesota
2024 Past and Present - Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center, Silver Bay, Minnesota
2024 Hygge - Warmth of Winter - North Shore Artists League Member Show at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, Minnesota
2024 Northern Landscapes Group Exhibition - MacRostie Art Center Reif Gallery, Grand Rapids, Minnesota
2024 20/20 Lake Superior Art & Studio Tour, Two Harbors, Minnesota
2023 Living on the Edge - The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, Wisconsin
2023 Season of Photography & Art at the Rock, Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors, Minnesota
2023 Spirit of the Arts - North Shore Artists League Member Show at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, Minnesota
2023 Art at Bayfront Park, Duluth, Minnesota
2022 Grand Marais Arts Festival, Grand Marais, Minnesota
Private Collection, Anchorage, Alaska
Private Collection, Grand Marais, Minnesota
Private Collection, St. Paul, Minnesota
Private Collection, Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Private Collection, Duluth, Minnesota
Private Collection, Bemidji, Minnesota
Private Collection, Maple Grove, Minnesota
Private Collection, Fairbanks, Alaska
Private Collection, South Range, Wisconsin
Private Collection, Leavenworth, Washington
Private Collection, Iowa City, Iowa
Private Collection, Newport, Rhode Island
Private Collection, Polk City, Iowa