Ellen “E.J.” Lefavour began her life as an artist in the fall of 1990, after leaving the corporate world and moving from Boston to Newbury, where she first picked up a paintbrush. It was love at first stroke, and from that moment, she knew she would spend the rest of her life pursuing her love of creating. In 1991 she entered the spring juried show at the Newburyport Art Association and received the first of many awards for her wok. She served on the Board of the Newburyport Art Association in the capacity of Treasurer for two years. During this time, she was also a member of the Copley Society and Haverhill Art Association.
In the Spring of 1994 E.J. moved to Jamaica where she spent the next four years painting, teaching local children in the country district of Little Bay where she resided, and exploring the bold colors and Rastafarian culture she found herself surrounded by, and for which her work has become world known.
Upon returning to the States in 1998, she settled in Key Largo, FL, where she became involved in the local art scenes and established herself as a Keys artist. In 1999 she opened Jah Works Gallery and Cultural Exchange Center which quickly evolved into a cultural hub, drawing dynamic emerging and established artists, poets, writers, actors and musicians from Key West to Fort Lauderdale, as well as visiting artists and appreciators from around the world.
In 2003, she returned home to Massachusetts and settled in East Boston where she became involved in the artist community at 80 Border Street, and an active member of the East Boston Artist Group. During her time in East Boston, E.J. founded and directed 80 Border Street Cultural Exchange Center, a non- profit center for visual and performing art, while operating Khan Studio, a gallery and production studio providing printing and framing services for fellow artists and the general public.
In 2010, E.J. moved to Gloucester, returning to the North Shore where her creative path began. She is an active member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony of which she is currently VP. She coordinates the annual Nights on the Neck performance series and is currently coordinating the 2013 Holiday Art & Fine Crafts Show at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, and the Art in the Schoolhouse holiday art show at Magnoia Histrical Society. She operates Khan Studio, a seasonal gallery at 77 Rocky Neck Ave., Gallery 3, from May to October, and at 1 Wonson Street from November through April. EJ is also a regular contributor to popular North Shore blog, Good Morning Gloucester.
