Artist Bio

 

Ellen C. Raines was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She could draw before she could write. Growing up, art class was her favorite. Her father was a recreational artist and would let her use his vintage pencils and charcoal, and different types of paper. In high school art class, one of her pieces was selected to be displayed in the Quarles and Brady building in downtown Milwaukee.

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Ellen received an art scholarship from Edgewood college for displaying a 9 foot by 5 foot installation piece of 81 pairs of hands in various poses. She also received a scholarship in English for creative writing.

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While attending Milwaukee Area Technical College, the animation department was developing a way to merge the animation program with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film program. She was attending both schools at the time when they chose to use her curriculum as the blueprint for other students to gain a 4 year degree. They followed every class she took and to this day the schools are still working off the same programs.

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In her spare time she participates in sketch comedy classes, learning how to get a punch line and be creative with words and developing puns.

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In 2020 while the country was in lockdown she was still working in the Postal Service. She came up with an idea of blending puns and visual art together in a play of word style. It started with a blue apple, testing what her art tablet is capable of. She drew a blue apple with beautiful texture and realism. However it was blue, not a natural color for the humble fruit, she titled it BRUISED APPLE, going on the play-on-word style that to bruise meaning to be black and blue and the fact that apples do form bruises. The play-on-word style (POW art) was under way and now she has over 100 pieces made in the first two years of starting.