Ellen Hedfield

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About Ellen Hedfield

Artist’s Statement

I create large-format watercolor paintings that celebrate the beauty and dignity of the ordinary – the abandoned, forgotten, and overlooked. I am an engineer by profession, which influences my choice of subject matter:  buildings, vehicles, signage, and equipment. Working from my own photographs and using a tightly-framed composition, I depict in detail the weathered surfaces and materials – wood and glass, metal and stone – and use bold color to portray textures and decay. I begin with a detailed plan, first laying down large, pigment-heavy “wet-in-wet” washes, then progressively add layers of detail to create texture. With emphasis on highlights and deep shadows, my subjects – with their peeling paint, rusty metal, and broken glass – come alive in three dimensions. A new direction for me is to combine encaustic medium with watercolor, mounting the original watercolor painting on a birch panel and applying encaustic medium over the painting to achieve a luminous, mysterious effect with greater depth. I aim to elevate my subjects in appreciation of the stories they tell and in celebration of the dignity of their work.

Biography

Ellen Hedfield paints big and bold watercolors that capture her view of the rural West. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ellen built a foundation of architectural drafting and mechanical drawing as part of her engineering studies. After moving to the west coast after college, she developed a love for the beauty and wide-open spaces of the rural West. She finds subject matter as she travels the backroads, discovering hidden treasures along the way. After a long career as an environmental engineer, she now enjoys the full-time occupation of exploring and creating from her home base of Redding, California.

Solo Exhibits

• 2025: The Sound Room, Oakland, California
• 2024:  Art in the City, Redding City Hall, Redding, California (featured artist)
• 2023: Carter House Gallery/North Valley Art League, Redding, California
• 2022: Mosaic Gallery, Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, California

Selected Group Exhibits

• 2025: North Valley Art League Regional Painting Show, Redding, California
• 2025: California Watercolor Association 55^th International Exhibition, Piedmont, California
• 2024, 2021, 2018: Northern California Arts Bold Expressions International Open, Carmichael, California
• 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020:North Valley Art League North State Juried Painting Show, Redding, California
• 2024:  Left Coast Annual Juried Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California
• 2024, 2018, 2017: Rockies West National Watercolor Exhibition, Western Colorado Watercolor Society, Grand Junction, Colorado
• 2023, 2019: Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition, Center for the Arts, Evergreen, Colorado
• 2023: The Shelley Lazarus Award for Excellence in Watercolor juried exhibit, The Artists Gallery, Los Angeles, California
• 2023: Magnum Opus, Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, California
• 2023, 2021, 2019: Turtle Bay West Coast Biennial Juried Art Exhibition, Redding, California
• 2020:  Water + Color National Juried Exhibition, Pence Gallery, Davis, California
• 2020:  Representing the West: A New Frontier, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, Colorado
• 2018: Chico Art Center Discovery Series, Chico, California (1 of 5 selected emerging artists)
• 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013: North Valley Art League Juried National Painting Show, Redding, California
• 2017, 2016: Chico Art Center National All Media Juried Show, Chico, California
• 2017, 2016: Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Placerville, California
• 2014: North Valley Art League Small Painting Juried Exhibit, Redding, California
• 2001: Landau-Mintz Gallery, Anchorage, Alaska
• 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997: Alaska Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibit, Anchorage, Alaska

Awards

• 2025 North Valley Art League Regional Juried Painting Show, Merit Award, for “Desert Refresh”
• 2024 Northern California Arts Bold Expressions 69^th International Open, Expressions of Excellence Award for “Icon”
• 2024 North Valley Art League, North State Juried Painting Show, 3^rd Place, for “Cast in Place”
• 2023 North Valley Art League North State Juried Painting Show, Honorable Mention, for “Southbound”
• 2023 Shelley Lazarus Award for Excellence in Watercolor, Honorable Mention, for “Watching Over the Desert”
• 2021 Turtle Bay West Coast Biennial Juried Art Exhibition, 3^rd Prize, for “Last Stop”
• 2019 Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition, Woden Woods Inc. Award, for “Hill Top’s Former Glory”
• 2017 Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Wayne Coleman Roots Award, for “Tribute (Oh, the Places We’ve Been)”
• 2016 Chico Art Center National All Media Juried Show, Honorable Mention, for “Winslow”
• 2016 Placerville Arts Association Annual National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention, for “Curvature”

Publications

• Wild at Art:  Hedfield ’85 on Life After Engineering, Michigan Technological University Office of Alumni Engagement, Alumni and Friends Stories, July 2025
• Beauty in Decay, Enjoy Magazine - Northern California Living, December 2022

Workshops/Instruction

• Diane Gill (Anchorage, Alaska): drawing coursework, University of Alaska, and studio instruction
• Sandi Palmer (Cottonwood, California): studio instruction
• Cynthia Schildhauer (Chico, California): “Paint Big” workshop
• Joe Garcia (Julian, California) and Adele Earnshaw (New Zealand): watercolor workshop
• Jeannie Vodden (Jackson, California): watercolor workshop
• Troy Hawkins (Redding, California): collage and assemblage workshop
• Linda Nunes (Sacramento, California): encaustic painting workshop

Membership

• California Watercolor Association
• North Valley Art League, Redding, California (board member)
• Chico Art Center, Chico, California