Painter Ellen Langford shares the gifts and challenges of ADHD in a creative profession.
For ADHD Awareness Month, we talk with painter Ellen Langford about her ADHD journey and how it intertwines with her creative life. Ellen shares the gifts and challenges of neurodivergence as an artist and small business owner, and the strategies that help her thrive.
Ellen Langford is a painter whose body of work is inspired by landscapes, chance meetings, and the cross-currents of the South. As a former paramedic in central Mississippi, she was moved by the personal stories of her patients and the quiet rituals of their lives. Ellen has studied her craft in cities such as New York, San Francisco, DC, and Italy, among other places, but her work took on its recognizable narrative quality when she returned home to Jackson, Mississippi.
As a parent and animal lover, Ellen often incorporates children and animals into her paintings, color, movement, and texture to build the story worlds her figures inhabit.
You can find Ellen’s work at ellenlangford.com, on Instagram at @ellenlangfordpaints, and Facebook at Ellen Langford Paints.
You can support Ellen’s lifelong dream to hike the Appalachian Trail here.

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How does ADHD influence your creative life? Tell us at podcast@semitogether.com or send us a voice memo.
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Resources
- Appalachian Trail Helene Recovery Resources & Updates (AT Conservancy)
- Chaos Theory: A Unified Theory of Muppet Types (Slate)
- Hunters in a Farmer’s World overview (Thom Hartmann)
- ADHD Traits Might Have Helped Hunter-Gatherers Collect More Food While Foraging, Study Suggests (Smithsonian)
Previous episodes:
Ep. 10: Making Your Dreams Real, with Kristen Ley
Ep. 34: Sharing Your Gifts with the World, with Heather Andersen Shellen
Ep. 43: Thriving with ADHD, with Dr. Michelle Frank
Ep. 57: ADHD and Creativity, Parenting, and Identity, with Ginger Williams Cook