A painter, muralist, adventurous spirit, and big time lover of life, Ella Kuzyk has been making art from the moment she could jam her baby hands into a jar of paint. Growing up in various mountain towns around the West, she has always been sketching, painting, and reimagining the landscapes around her. Ella’s work has become an ode to the sense of overwhelming joy, wonder, and awe found in truly wild moments and places. Early influences on her art include Sean McCabe, Christina Russel McKeown, and Larry Pirnie. 

Ella’s art is in the experience and process, blending the memory, imagination, and place together. The landscape form remains mostly intact, while vibrant colors breathe joy and life into her work. She often will start a painting en plein air, or bring back sketches to work from into the studio.  

“When I’m painting, I usually start drawing based off a mix of reference photos and sketches, then let loose with the colors, letting my experience of the place shine through.”  

This gives her art a bit of a psychedelic edge, and a unique sense of fluidity.   

In her free time, Ella loves to run, ski, backpack, and bike—a bit of everything to inspire her artwork. She graduated from MSU last fall with a marketing degree, and spent the first half of 2024 at an artist’s residency in Argentina. Ella is staying in Whitefish this winter, working as the snow reporter at the ski resort, and enjoying absorbing all the new landscapes and inspiration.  

“I’m very excited for the change of scenery and all the art that will come from it! I could spend a lifetime painting in Montana. We see the world through the eyes of imperfect beings. Each person is home to an entirely unique universe of their own; I’m so happy to share some of mine with you.” 

You can follow along with her adventures on Instagram @january.dreaming and get in contact for inquiries, commissions and murals through ellakuzykcreative.com