Ellen Lee Osterfield: The Singing Artist

This multi-talented Australian lady has nurtured her love for art and music by travelling all over our magnificent country while promoting her creative work.

- Trevor Lang

Ellen Lee Osterfield has been painting pictures of Australia for more than 32 years … sometimes with a paintbrush, and sometimes with a guitar.

Her intense love of the Australian landscape, and her affection for the country’s colourful characters and its fascinating flora and fauna, have led to her winning numerous awards for singing, song writing and painting.

Ellen inherited much of her musical and artistic talent from her father, Bill. She started entertaining as a very young child – singing her own version of the classic ‘Springtime in the Rockies’ for visitors.

When Ellen and her sisters were youngsters, their mother played guitar and music echoed through the household on a daily basis. On Saturday nights the family would go to the old-time dances in the hall at Marong near Bendigo in Victoria. Grandfather Fred Osterfield would run the dances, while grandmother Henrietta organised the lavish suppers. With Bill singing, it really was a family affair. When the children got tired they would find their blanket and curl up behind the band to go to sleep. Inevitably, they grew up loving music.