Spotlight Artist

Josiah Ellner

Midwest
Artist profile photo

Mako’s Wish

Two blue hands cupping a bright, glowing light with a dark blue background.

oil paint and oil pastel

Earth Star

Two glowing dandelion flowers and jagged leaves in luminous shades of blue.

oil paint

Moon Peeker

Blue hand touching long hair, glowing moon reflecting on dark water in the background.

oil paint

Featured in New American Paintings1 / 3

Artist Statement


My paintings are born from narratives that revolve around the relationship between humanity and the natural world. They draw from moments that embody the feeling of oneness with nature; moments of intimacy, tranquility, and reflection; and experiences that allow us to perceive the greater connection that pervades the environments we inhabit. These moments are often pulled from childhood experiences of wonder and everyday moments that conjure feelings of nostalgia. The formal decisions I make in the work are all informed by the characteristics of these moments, which tend toward the awkward, whimsical, playful, and sometimes slightly humorous. This results in ungainly figures and highly saturated colors that express an augmented sense of reality. Through these abstractions I strive to achieve a heightened narrative that encapsulates these moments of connection that we have with the natural world in a digital age.

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