Mary Ellen Riell

Arboretums and outstanding gardens, both great and small, offer the receptive visitor unique sensory and emotional experiences. In addition to a focus on my own backyard garden, I travel to public and private gardens near and far as a member of the Garden Conservancy. A favorite place to sketch, paint and photograph is Schoharie County’s Landis, a public arboretum and garden open year round and the subject of many of my pastels such as Summer Breeze, Landis and Anemones and Old Maple. I feel a sense of gratitude to the past creators and contemporary caretakers of Landis who have given me the opportunity to observe and interpret the character of an evolving and special outdoor garden space, a haven created with love, knowledge and care.

Mary Ellen Riell grew up in the Marine Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. As a teenager she studied at the Art Students League in New York City and continued her education at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Brooklyn College. As an undergraduate she mentored with painter Sam Gelber and sculptor Sylvia Stone. She earned a Masters in Education with a studio concentration in screen printing from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY in 1994. Mary Ellen has been an award winner at The Blooming Artist and she is a recipient of other top awards in both watercolor and pastel, including Grand Prize in the Cooperstown Art Association's 79th Annual National Exhibition, Best in Show at the Laffer Gallery’s 3rd Annual Upstate Artists Exhibition and, most recently, the Adirondack Pastel National Silver Award. Exhibiting since 1995, Mary Ellen has participated in over 100 exhibitions throughout the Northeast. She is a current member and former co-director of the Oakroom Artists. Her pastel landscapes, watercolors and prints are found in private and corporate collections.