A Celebration of Life

A Celebration of Life
Copyright 1998 Ella Gardner Originals
ISBN: 0-9962567-0-0

From the back cover:

Award-winning artist Ella Gardner always had the desire to paint. In 1936 she attended classes at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, but rarely set up an easel for the next 28 years. Teaching, farming and motherhood filled her days with little room left for art.

But the urge to create never left. In 1964, when her youngest son started college, she picked up a paintbrush and has been making up for lost time ever since. She works in oils, pastels, acrylics, watercolors and ink; the subject matter often dictates the medium, she says. A member of the Wisconsin Regional Artists Association since 1964, she has won numerous awards over the years.

Rural life–the kind of life she and her family have always led–dominates her work. In her paintings farm memories come alive: the major events–the excitement of a farm auction, the thrill of haying before a storm; and the quiet moments, such as the cats playing in the barn. Nature in all its moods is ever present in her work, most dramatically in her series inspired by a trip to the Canadian Rockies.

On a joyous romp through so many of Ella’s works are her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As with all of Ella Gardner’s paintings, these truly are A Celebration of Life.