Ellis Burgess
Australian Painter
A number of people have said that ‘it’ (whatever ‘it’ is) is in Ellis’s genes and to some extent they are correct. Her grandmother painted and so did her mother. Marge Barley started painting when she was 9 years old and achieved some acclaim in New Zealand. In turn, Marge’s mother, Ellis’s Grandmother started much later in life more from compulsion than conscious desire. Ten years ago a well-intentioned friend shoved a paintbrush into Ellis’s clenched fist, forcefully moving her hand between paint pot and paper until it...more
