About the Artist

Barbara Ellis is a non-objective abstract painter who lives and works in Charlotte, NC. She was born in New York City, and has resided in Charlotte since 2004.

Barbara began her part-time studio practice in 2012 at Clearwater Artist Studios in Concord, NC at the tail end of her corporate career. Upon retiring in 2015 she transitioned to full-time, delving into loose figurative and abstraction.

In 2017, she was juried into Steve Aimone’s Master Series Residency that focused on the language of non-objective composition, painting and drawing, and on the art-making process. The experience enhanced her expressive ability and visual acuity, and continues to inform her process today.

Barbara has exhibited in solo, and group shows in North Carolina, including the Mint Museum, NineEighteenNine Studio Gallery, Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, and Greenhill Center for NC Art. Her work has been featured in print, including Art of the State by Liza Roberts, and the 2021 NC Literary Review. Barbara is an alum of the 2016 ArtPop Charlotte cohort, and Artfields 2017.

In 2019 she and mixed media abstract artist Mikel Frank began to create paintings collaboratively. During 2023-24, they generated a series of large scale unstretched canvases that were exhibited in the Big Ass Canvas Show at Nine Eighteen Nine Studio Gallery, curated by Joanne Rogers. Barbara has studio space at the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA) in Uptown Charlotte, NC. She is represented by NineEighteenNine Studio Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

Artist Statement

My quest for Balance has always been innate. Baked in. It shows up in many facets of my life. And so, when I was introduced to abstract artmaking, I realized that I had found my creative sweet spot. Inspiration is borne out of dreams, musings, and externals that are worthy of visual expression.  While building an abstract work, it is natural for chaos to develop as I express the Idea supporting my marks. Eventually, my job becomes turning randomness into a semblance of order. The act of doing of the work facilitates the journey to find its end.