With a passion for art clear from a very young age, Ellis built an incredibly successful career spanning over 30 years in advertising and publishing as a graphic designer. Drawing on this experience, he woke up one morning and decided it was time for a change of direction. Inspired by his love of the urban art movement he began creating work to his own brief and achieved critical acclaim almost immediately.
Since then, his work has evolved through a passion for strong graphic illustration and the stencil art movement, with influences from the likes of Antoni Tàpies, Mark Rothko and Banksy. With every piece he creates, Ellis seeks to fulfil his ultimate goal of bringing street art from the “outside in."
Ellis's artwork draws on iconic moments in history of any subject matter, which he then adds a twist to, opening a dialogue with the viewer. These can be humorous, controversial (even shocking) or just plain 'arty' but always seem to result in more questions being asked than are answered. There are usually several messages within each work, which are often interpreted differently by each viewer.
Ellis uses a variety of mediums to create his unique works of art. Plaster, watercolour, sand, acrylic and gouache plus a few secret ingredients all feature in his arsenal. Each is individually hand made, with a custom frame created by him specifically for each piece.His limited edition prints offer an insight into his vast experience as a graphic designer - a two dimensional representation of his original works with each one crafted specifically by Ellis to ensure they offer the same depth of image as the original on which they are based.