Biography
Ellen Hedfield paints big and bold watercolors that portray her view of today’s rural West. Her artistic pursuit begins on the road, with photography that captures in the moment the freedom she feels when exploring wide-open spaces. From her photography she composes visually powerful paintings in which the stars are the hidden gems – equipment, signs, vehicles, and structures – that she discovers along the way. These weathered, abandoned objects once had a job to do, and Ellen’s paintings elevate and celebrate their contribution – and their hidden beauty.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ellen built a foundation of drafting and mechanical design as part of her engineering studies. After moving to the west coast, she developed a love for the boundless expanse of the rural West. With this background, she is drawn to unconventional subject matter and compositions, and she renders her subjects with strong lines, highly saturated colors, and contemporary realism.
Ellen enjoys sharing her unique perspective on the West with others, hoping they will also slow down to explore, notice, and appreciate the beauty of the overlooked treasures in our midst.
Artist Statement
My watercolor paintings celebrate the beauty and dignity of the ordinary – the abandoned, forgotten, and overlooked. I am an engineer by profession, which influences my choice of subject matter: buildings, vehicles, signage, and equipment. I notice and appreciate these things that quietly “do their job.”
Working from my own photographs and using a tightly-framed composition, I depict in detail the weathered surfaces and materials – wood and glass, metal and stone – and use bold color to portray textures and decay. I begin with a detailed plan, first laying down large, pigment-heavy “wet-in-wet” washes, then progressively add layers of detail to create texture. With emphasis on highlights and deep shadows, my subjects – with their peeling paint, rusty metal, and broken glass – come alive in three dimensions. I relish depicting subjects that have succumbed to the passage of time, with their beautiful, weathered textures.
Resumé
Solo Exhibits
- 2026: East Bay Municipal Utility District Headquarters Lobby Gallery, Oakland, California
- 2026: The Sound Room, Oakland, California
- 2025: The Sound Room, Oakland, California
- 2024: Art in the City, Redding City Hall, Redding, California (featured artist)
- 2023: Carter House Gallery/North Valley Art League, Redding, California
- 2022: Mosaic Gallery, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California
Group Exhibits
- 2026: Unbridled, A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, Trinidad, Colorado
- 2025: North Valley Art League Regional Painting Show, Redding, California
- 2025: California Watercolor Association 55th International Exhibition, Piedmont, California
- 2024, 2021, 2018: Northern California Arts Bold Expressions International Open, Carmichael, California
- 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020: North Valley Art League North State Juried Painting Show, Redding, California
- 2024: Left Coast Annual Juried Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California
- 2024, 2018, 2017: Rockies West National Watercolor Exhibition, Western Colorado Watercolor Society, Grand Junction, Colorado
- 2023, 2019: Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition, Center for the Arts, Evergreen, Colorado
- 2023: Shelley Lazarus Award for Excellence in Watercolor Juried Exhibit, The Artist’s Gallery (TAG), Los Angeles, California
- 2023: Magnum Opus, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, California
- 2023, 2021, 2019: West Coast Biennial, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California
- 2020: Water + Color National Juried Exhibition, Pence Gallery, Davis, California
- 2020: Representing the West: A New Frontier, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, Colorado
- 2018: Chico Art Center Discovery Series, Chico, California (1 of 5 featured emerging artists)
- 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013: North Valley Art League Juried National Painting Show, Redding, California
- 2017, 2016: Chico Art Center National All Media Juried Show, Chico, California
- 2017, 2016: Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Placerville, California
- 2014: North Valley Art League Small Painting Juried Exhibit, Redding, California
- 2001: Landau-Mintz Gallery, Anchorage, Alaska
- 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997: Alaska Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibit, Anchorage, Alaska
Publications
Awards
- 2025 North Valley Art League Regional Juried Painting Show, Merit Award, for “Desert Refresh”
- 2024 Northern California Arts Bold Expressions 69th International Open, Expression of Excellence Award, for “Icon”
- 2024 North Valley Art League North State Juried Painting Show, 3rd Place, for “Cast in Place”
- 2023 North Valley Art League North State Juried Painting Show, Honorable Mention, for “Southbound”
- 2023 Shelley Lazarus Award for Excellence in Watercolor, Honorable Mention, for “Watching Over the Desert”
- 2021 Turtle Bay West Coast Biennial Juried Art Exhibition, 3rd Prize, for “Last Stop”
- 2019 Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition, Woden Woods Inc. Award, for “Hill Top’s Former Glory”
- 2017 Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Wayne Coleman Roots Award, for “Tribute – Oh, the Places We’ve Been”
- 2016 Chico Art Center National All Media Juried Show, Honorable Mention, for “Winslow”
- 2016 Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention, for “Curvature”