Ellen Gonzales has always loved art. While she used to play with watercolors, her mom would paint her entire house in florals. As she shares the stories about the intricate floral patterns and creations her mom used to make, she laughs because she hated it as a child. She wasn’t a girl really into flowers or florals, and her mom was adding florals to almost any surface she could get her hands on. The irony of her childhood and floral surroundings is not lost on Ellen; her laughter continues as she reminds me that she exclusively paints florals. Her mom finds it funny too.
“You can actually say a lot with flowers without actually saying it,” she says, sharing how her view on florals has changed after the laughter dies down. You won’t catch Ellen decorating with real flowers, but we all get to appreciate her talents with the exquisite flowers she paints.
While always loving art, Ellen didn’t set out to be an artist. Originally, she wanted to be a teacher. She did pursue a degree in social sciences with an emphasis in education but the only time she spent teaching involved teaching preschool. She would change to pursuing music at John Brown University in Arkansas. Moving to Arkansas was the start of a few cross-country moves Ellen and her family would do before coming back home to Arizona. She would hold a few different jobs in a few different career fields during this time. Behind the changes, the careers, and the moves, Ellen had her art.
It was a hobby for her, an outlet. Despite her mom’s florals and decorating schemes, Ellen didn't start exploring art until high school, taking an art class. Her talent was immediately noticed. She won awards and was featured in different student galleries. She continued to take art classes in college, even while pursuing different degree paths. Her talent was obvious, but she kept art a hobby. “It never occurred to me that I could make it a career,” she says when explaining her art journey.
2020 came around and it changed things for Ellen, just like that year has changed things for so many of us. She started making stickers, using her skills to create beautiful florals with truth from scripture. Her stickers were perfect for planners, Bibles, even journals. Her husband encouraged her to open an Etsy shop, and she listened. The first day her shop was open, she sold a bunch, taking her completely by surprise. As planner companies started reaching out to do collaborations, Ellen started painting Bibles, making bookmarks, and journals, growing her shop to be a place for hope filled, truth reminding, and God glorifying art. Her Etsy shop even grew legs and walked out into local collective shops and markets around Arizona.
Over the past six years, God has been guiding Ellen, creating a path for her to make art a career step by step. Six years later and Ellen has shifted. The smaller stuff has been surrendered as she has been led to focus on fine art, bigger paintings. Each of her paintings hold a message, a truth from scripture, but ultimately, Ellen hopes people feel the presence of God when they see her paintings.
Ellen Gonzales is the owner and operator of White Bird Design Co. Her husband and her kids have been key helpers in all aspects of her business, including restocks at local collective stores, along with helping with pop up markets. What started in 2020 as an Etsy shop, making stickers, has become a family business, even with the shift to focus on Fine Art. White Bird Design Co. has an online gallery where you can shop paintings and fine art prints. www.whitebirddesignco.com You can also find her on Instagram: @whitebirddesignco where she shares upcoming art shows and upcoming works.