Born in Hayward, California, Ellena has been painting and creating for over ten years. She works in oil and watercolor, mixing techniques to treat one like the other. Their paintings are a result of filtering their lived experience through music and emotion. Endlessly inspired by the natural world, she paints what is deeply familiar to her. Ellena graduated in the spring of 2021 from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a Bachelor's in Fine Art with a focus in painting and a minor in Gender and Sexualities. She has been working all over the East Bay as a teaching artist since 2022, working with students aged 2-16. Some galleries that have shown their work include Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco, Wailoa Center in Hilo, and HPU Kaneohe Gallery on O'ahu.
I attempt to convey or capture distinct emotions in my abstracted paintings and part of my hope when people view the work is connection and feeling understood. We, as people, go through similar struggles, I want to express emotions that I experience that I know others experience as well. It is a push towards connection, community, and unity instead of the hyper-isolated and individualistic outlook that is prevalent in our culture. Some of the themes I explore are nostalgia, yearning, and the natural world.