Hi, I’m Jessica Ellington, the artist behind Poured Out Art. I’m based in Oxford, Mississippi, where I create bold, dramatic abstract paintings inspired by music, emotion, and movement. I grew up in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, in a family that nurtured creativity in me and my sisters. Music was my first language. I later studied at Union University, earning my BA in voice in 2005.
That foundation still shapes the way I work today. Life eventually brought me to Oxford, where I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom to two young children. During that season, I began painting and launched my small business in 2018. The name Poured Out Art originally described the literal process I love, pouring paint from a cup to create work that is messy, beautiful, and full of life.
But the name has always carried deeper meaning for me. I am a Christ follower, and the image of being “poured out” is woven throughout Scripture. It reminds me of the sacrifice of Jesus and the covering of grace: “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, ESV)
In March 2021, my life changed forever. A devastating car accident took my husband and both of my children. In the aftermath, I found myself grieving, rebuilding, and searching for something that could help me heal. My faith sustained me, but I also needed an outlet. Painting became that lifeline. I poured myself onto the canvas, and slowly, piece by piece, joy began to return.
I found myself grieving, rebuilding, and searching for something that could help me heal.
Poured Out Art started before that loss, but it took on a new meaning in the months and years that followed. It became a way to support myself, yes, but also a way to keep moving forward. I am still learning what it means to be emptied of myself and filled to overflowing with the peace, joy, and hope that only comes from God. It’s the kind of hope that defies logic and understanding, but that is who God is. As Titus says, the Holy Spirit is “poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:4–7, ESV)
Today, my work lives at the intersection of sound and color, heartache and hope, motion and meaning. Every piece is its own kind of pouring out, and my prayer is that what fills me will overflow into something that speaks to you, too.