Ellis O’Connor

Ellis O'Connor graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee with a Master's degree in Fine Art in 2015, marking the beginning of a creative journey deeply connected to landscape and environment. Since graduating, she has established herself as a full-time artist, living and working from her home studio on the Isle of Skye where the surrounding environment provides direct inspiration for her distinctive work.

Ellis O'Connor: Arctic Explorations

After completing her education, Ellis embarked on several significant artistic journeys that have shaped her creative vision. In 2022, she was one of just ten artists worldwide selected for the annual Arctic Circle Expedition, where she circumnavigated the archipelago of Svalbard in the High Arctic. This experience followed earlier arctic explorations, including a 2016 expedition to Svalbard as a selected worldwide artist. These immersive experiences in extreme environments have deeply influenced her approach to landscape painting, allowing her to create work that captures the raw energy of wild places.

From Skye to the World

Since 2018, Ellis has worked as a full-time artist from her home studio on the Isle of Skye, where she draws direct inspiration from the surrounding landscape. Her practice often involves creating artwork on site, where extreme weather and natural elements become integral to her pieces, a process she describes as almost "performative". The wind, rain, and shifting light of Scotland's west coast literally shape the work as it develops, embedding the environment's energy directly into each canvas. Her large-scale, expressive oil paintings are available for sale through galleries across Scotland and beyond, including Graystone Gallery, where collectors can buy pieces that bring the visceral power of wild landscapes into their homes.

Recognition and Artistic Impact

Ellis's distinctive artistic vision has earned her numerous accolades throughout her career, including the John Byrne Award, the Royal Scottish Academy Landscape Award, and the Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Florence Scholarship. Her work has been featured in prestigious collaborations with brands like Talisker, Innis and Gunn, and National Geographic.

Ellis O'Connor Paintings for Sale

Through her large-scale, expressive oil paintings, Ellis creates a dialogue between external landscapes and internal emotional states, stripping away recognisable forms to invite viewers to engage with the raw energy that nature evokes. Her paintings serve as a testament to the powerful connection between artist and environment, capturing moments where the boundaries between self and landscape blur. Each piece carries the physical memory of its creation: the weather, the location, the artist's immersive engagement with place.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ellis O'Connor

How would you describe Ellis O'Connor's visual style?

Ellis O'Connor's large-scale oil paintings capture the raw, visceral energy of wild landscapes through expressive, abstracted forms. Her work strips away recognisable details to focus on atmosphere, movement, and emotional resonance. The paintings carry a sense of immediacy and power, often bearing the physical traces of the extreme weather conditions in which they were created, making each piece a unique record of place and moment.

Where do Ellis O'Connor's paintings work best in a home?

Ellis's large-scale expressive paintings work beautifully in spacious contemporary interiors where they can breathe and command attention. The dynamic energy and atmospheric qualities suit open-plan living areas, minimalist spaces, or rooms with high ceilings where the work's scale can be fully appreciated. Her pieces bring the drama and tranquillity of wild Scottish landscapes indoors, creating powerful focal points in both residential and commercial settings.

What's the best way to position an Ellis O'Connor painting?

Given the large scale and expressive nature of Ellis's oil paintings, position them where they have space to make an impact, ideally as standalone statement pieces rather than grouped with other works. Natural light enhances the texture and layered brushwork, revealing the depth within each composition. The raw energy of these pieces suits spaces where you want to evoke a sense of wildness and connection to nature.

What makes Ellis O'Connor a compelling artist to collect?

Ellis O'Connor has achieved significant recognition including the John Byrne Award, Royal Scottish Academy Landscape Award, and Royal Scottish Academy John Kinross Florence Scholarship. Her selection as one of only ten artists worldwide for the 2022 Arctic Circle Expedition demonstrates international recognition of her practice. Collaborations with prestigious brands like Talisker, Innis and Gunn, and National Geographic further establish her profile. Artists with this level of accolades, unique creative process, and growing international presence often see sustained collector interest.

What influences Ellis O'Connor's landscape work?

Ellis's approach is shaped by immersive experiences in extreme environments, particularly her expeditions to Svalbard in the High Arctic in 2016 and 2022. Living and working on the Isle of Skye since 2018, she creates work on site where extreme weather becomes integral to the pieces, a process she describes as "performative". This direct engagement with wild places allows her to capture not just what landscapes look like, but how they feel.

Discover the captivating Ellis O'Connor art collection