Ellen enjoyed working with children and the combination with painting seemed ideal to her. She bought a few basic brushes, a few colors of face paint and began practicing; first on herself, then on friends and family. Gradually she bought more and more professional equipment: glitter tattoos, special effects and false wounds material, material for bodypainting … and started working with it.
At the beginning of her final year of studies “Master in Rehabilitation Sciences and Kinesitherapy” at the University of Ghent, she founded her company “Bodypaint by Ellen” as a student-entrepreneur. After her studies, she worked for several years half-time as a physiotherapist and half-time as a body paint freelancer. Since October 2018, she has been working full-time as a freelance artist.