The source of my inspiration is landscape, a meditative gathering-in of nature's constant transformations. My paintings are of real or partly imagined places in which I seek to develop an atmosphere of quiet and peace, sometimes with an overlay of mystery.

In the late 1970's I worked on geometric abstractions, which always contained the basic elements of landscape, in particular, the horizon line. Later, my work evolved into more representational images, still with an abstract sensibility.

Significant landscapes for me have been the Virginia countryside, Aspen Colorado mountains, the hills of Tuscany and Napa, and the quiet beauty of lower Cape Cod. My Spartina series, begun in 2006, focuses in on grasses, which grow mostly by the water's edge. Year after year, the grasses change; they are nature at its deepest core.

My current series of tree paintings continue many themes of past work; a sense of mystery, and of images altered by time and movement. Like grasses in the Spartina series, trees represent endurance, change, and the ability to cope with elements of nature. My most recent paintings, some of which are titled Trees from a Moving Train ---depict the fleeting and blurred visions of tree landscapes from a train window, creating a feeling of images and thoughts passing quickly through our lives.

I am influenced by the places I've been and events that occur in my life, so my work goes naturally through gradual change, passing discreetly from one phase into another.

                          

Ellen W. Sinel