Ellen Gonzales started her career in aviation—a far cry from the fine art world where she’d eventually end up.
But the creative side of her was always there. As a child, she recalls, “I loved all things creative,” which included watercolor, drawing and painting. As a high school student, she took an art class, and her piece was selected for exhibition at the local public library.
It excited her, but it wasn’t enough to set her on the fine art path. Not yet.
Although Gonzales took art classes in college, her focus shifted several times before she settled on a degree in social sciences and entered the aviation industry to work in her family’s business.
Fifteen years passed. Then came 2020. And suddenly, like many people, she found herself with more space to think, create and explore her life’s purpose.
Shifting her career started with the stickers.
Gonzales says she loves planners and wanted to redecorate hers, but couldn’t find any faith-based stickers she liked.
“Let me get you an iPad, and you can make your own,” her husband suggested.
She did, and he was so impressed, he encouraged her to sell them. Gonzales opened an Etsy shop to sell hand-drawn products, but what began as a small creative outlet rapidly grew. Soon, she was painting more than just stickers, experimenting with drawing on everything from notebooks to Bibles to cutting boards.
“Oh, my gosh, I've painted so many different things,” she says.
To sell her work outside of Etsy, Gonzales signed up for craft shows and art fairs, both locally and out of state. But even as her business expanded, she wanted to grow in her technical skills.
In 2023, she signed up for the Milan Art Institute, a year-long, rigorous technical fine art training program—one that Gonzales credits for helping her gain confidence and for her work to bloom, literally.
Yes, these days she often paints flowers. But that’s because she sees desert florals as symbolic and expressive. As she puts it: nothing dry is dead, it’s just “learned to wait.”
“My work holds that same posture: patient, rooted, reaching towards light,” she adds.
Gonzales works out of a sunlit studio, surrounded by her beloved desert landscape. While she used to mainly paint in acrylics and watercolors, she’s since expanded into mixed media, almost always finishing with oils because “it makes things come to life.”
Her work does take on a life of its own. Often on her blank canvases, she writes thoughtful messages, fragments of scripture or words tied to a season. Most of the time, she covers them or leaves them barely peeking through. Yet always, the intended theme is felt in the finished product.
At shows, Gonzales says she finds herself in deep conversations about the meaning of her individual paintings. “Sometimes, people cry,” she says.
Collectors even tell her that they bought a piece from her during a hard season and that it still speaks to them years later.
Gonzales has received recognition for her work, including placing in the top 10 nationally in the Tubac Festival. This summer, she plans to participate in an art exposition in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
But for Gonzales, success is deeper than that. Once, she envisioned herself working inside a church, but now she sees her art as an opportunity to touch people’s hearts. When it does, that means everything to her.
The artist calling is not for everyone, but it’s certainly for Gonzales.
“I’m 100 percent in this,” she shares.
To view more of Gonzales's artwork and learn more about her process, search “White Bird Design Co” online.
...she writes thoughtful messages, fragments of scripture or words tied to a season. Most of the time, she covers them or leaves them barely peeking through. Yet always, the intended theme is felt in the finished product.