A Georgia native, Ellen DeLoach lived and worked in Cobb County her entire life. As a young wife and mother with boundless energy, she created artwork in any pockets of time she had. It took nearly twenty years for her to find the courage to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She was determined to develop her skills and give something of herself in each original, emotive work of art.
Ellen’s intense faith and perseverance led her out of several difficult periods in her life. However, the imprint of pain and fear she experienced during periods of domestic violence and serious illness, remained a constant undertone in her art. Her career blossomed while she was in her fifties, under the mentorship of abstract painter Michael David. Along with other women of her generation, who had previously been “marginalized as hobbyists,” Ellen expanded into her gifts as a member of the Atlanta Fine Arts Atelier. The group was similar to the Black Mountain College format; artists teaching artists, working in groups while growing individually in their own practices. Ellen and other members of the Atelier were encouraged by Michael David to keep rigorous studio hours and had an active process of creation, critique, and exhibition. After joining the Fine Arts Atelier in 2011, Ellen was awarded numerous opportunities to show her work in Atlanta, GA as well as with Josef Glimer Gallery in Chicago, IL.
Ellen painted figurative works as well as landscapes, inspired by what she felt and what she saw throughout her life in Georgia. She said, “what I am painting, what I am doing right now, is helping me tell my story.”
Ellen’s life was brought to a sudden end in November of 2015, during the height of her creativity and art making.
Michael David explained that Ellen believed that painting was “something that had redemptive power and could help people.” Since her untimely passing, her work has been carefully held by her daughter, Jessica Hanna. Jessica seeks to expose her mother's work to art/design professionals and collectors who can continue to give life to the work. While Ellen’s professional artistic career was short, it was extremely prolific and filled with passion; evidence that when she was painting, she became the woman she was truly meant to be.
WABE City Lights: Interview with Lois Reitzes
Hear more about Ellen's legacy from Jessica Hanna.
She spoke with “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes about the 2023 posthumous exhibition: "Nesting: Loss, Triumph, and Redemption" at Avery Gallery in Marietta, GA.
This interview originally aired on April 5, 2023
Artistic Context
In her encaustic and oil paintings, Ellen DeLoach worked the surface of her artworks with great care, developing layers of color and texture that yielded dense images spanning the figurative and abstract, and sometimes came close to pure color field painting. DeLoach’s work was often inspired by a special interest in the Old Testament’s Book of Ruth, which addresses themes of kindness and one’s moral and familial duties. “I hope my viewers see these women not as victims, but as survivors who may have seen tough things in their lives but have overcome it, grown and moved on,” she said. Her abstract works invite comparison with other artists interested in themes of memory and survival, such as Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell, and Anselm Kiefer.
