Peter Ellenshaw described his paintings as his own individual kind of realism, representing the truth of a scene as he saw it. "A picture must look real. If  I can't believe the picture I paint, I am not satisfied. Paintings must be alive." Ellenshaw's paintings are indeed alive; his canvases are infused with his passion for the land and the sea.

Born in Great Britain, Ellenshaw lived in California for many years. His works are represented in public and private collections throughout the world. His work has been exhibited in prestigious art museums and galleries  and the artwork he produced during his 30-year association with Disney Productions was honored with a retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Ellenshaw's powerful panoramic landscapes express both the magnitude and the delicacy of nature.  He calls his method of painting "impressionistic shorthand," which refers to his use of broad brushstrokes to give the impression of detail. There is a jewel-like quality to his colors that fires the light in his paintings.

Ellenshaw was able to evoke an immediate response in lovers of nature as he colored his canvases with a combination of technical skill and poetic imagination.

"The wonderful thing in painting is that one can never reach the peak of one's endeavor. As the years go by, it becomes increasingly difficult to paint just a little better than last year; but in the trying, one lives to the fullest as a painter."

After Peter Ellenshaw retired from the film business, he dedicated his life to his passion for fine art painting. Numerous masterpieces were created, of both Disney and non-Disney themed subjects, which have been highly collected and are considered extremely valuable.

He died in 2007.

The Collaborative Art of Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw

As a visual effects designer and filmmaker, Harrison Ellenshaw's work can be seen in such films as Star Wars, Tron, The Empire Strikes Back, Captain Eo, Dick Tracy and others. He also enjoys a successful career as a fine artist with one-man shows of his paintings in London, New York and San Francisco.

Peter Ellenshaw has received five Academy Award® nominations, winning the Oscar® for his stunning recreation of Edwardian London in the Walt Disney's classic, Mary Poppins. Throughout the years, Ellenshaw has sought to capture the drama and emotions of many different scenes. His work is represented in both public and private collections worldwide. He has received numerous honors and retrospectives including those by the American Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Film Institute of Chicago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the R.W. Norton Art Museum in Shreveport, LA.  He has earned the illustrious title of "Disney Legend."

In their first creative collaboration since Disney's "The Black Hole" (1979), Peter & Harrison Ellenshaw came together to create "We Can Fly." Their first in a series of collaborative works celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney's, "Peter Pan."

Their second piece was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which according to Harrison, "was my introduction to Hollywood, at least to the Disney style of epic movie making. This was an exciting time, seeing my father involved in one of Walt Disney's most successful live action films."