Ethel Mortenson Davis was born in Wisconsin where her parents were dairy farmers in Marathon County. Her years on the farm instilled a deep sense of the earth and the various forms of life.  She studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, under Milton Resnick, one of the 20th Century’s best-known abstract artists. Her pastels have been featured in a number of galleries and publications.

Ethel works with pastels with an emphasis upon color and movement, using both realism and abstraction.  She starts with an idea and makes a series of pastel paintings following that original thought.  The cultures of other peoples and places hold great interest for Ethel. “Our connections to each other as human beings create a commonality that bridges our differences.”

Ethel currently lives with her husband and two dogs in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where her daughters and grandchildren come to visit on a regular basis.  Her son died of cancer in 2010. She has published two books of poetry: I Sleep Between the Moons of New Mexico and White Ermine Across Her Shoulders.