Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a professional musician-father and a housewife-mother,[5][6] Ted Ellis' earliest hints of artistic talent began to show at five-years-old.

[2][7] Ellis' first attempt at art was a third-grade freehand sketch of a dog from Archie Comics, which he drew so accurately that friends and family believed it had been traced.

[5] Growing up, one of his favorite characters to draw was Wile E. Coyote, and as an adult he continues to enjoy comic books as "refreshing".

[4] Ellis followed advice from Anna Torregano, his mentor, friend and high school art teacher, and his parents, all of whom advised him to pursue an academic career so as not to become a "starving artist".

[9] When he first got started, Ellis passed on an opportunity to do work for the J. C. Penney catalog because he was too busy, but ultimately found success in a similar publication.

[5][9][12] After quitting his job as an engineer in 1996,[6] Ellis competed against 500 others for, and won, a 1998 Walt Disney Studios commission for art in honor of Black History Month.

[6] Ted's wife Erenia, a loan officer, manages his business, "T. Ellis Art, Incorporated", out of a League City, Texas studio.

[4][8][10] In 2005 he signed for representation with art licensing agency "Alaska Momma" with the intent of opening new merchandising avenues in home décor, furnishings, calendars, apparel and stationery.

[4][8][9][10][15] Ellis' works have been sold through Army and Air Force Exchange Service catalogs and were available exclusively both through Avon's African American Boutique as well as their core brochures.

After the storm, Ellis helped fly home friends stranded outside New Orleans, and he organized colleagues in the art community behind the relief effort.

[16] Ellis was allowed to enter the city two weeks after the flood waters subsided in order to survey the damage to his mother's home in the Lower Ninth Ward and salvage her possessions.

[11][13] While travelling among the destroyed houses and deserted city, Ellis witnessed a lone man repairing his home's roof.

It was located at and included tours of the historic residence of horticulturist Henry Stringfellow, an innovator in organic gardening who was enlightened in how he employed of freedmen.

[20] The painting Free At Last includes depictions of Buffalo soldiers, Harriet Tubman, the year "1865", a mighty oak, and in the background, their heads bowed in prayer, the figures of the current owner and restorer of the house, Sam Collins III, and his wife and children.

The City of Selma, Alabama, commissioned T. Ellis as the official artist for the 50th anniversary for the civil rights march, known as "Bloody Sunday".

The Juneteenth Freedom Project was exhibited at the State Capitol in Washington, DC at the U.S. Senate Rotunda and House of Representatives Rayburn Building.

[25] President George W. Bush and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi stand amidst 300 Tuskegee Airmen during a photo opportunity Thursday, March 29, 2007, in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

[19] Ellis serves together with Gregory Michael Carter as an artist-in-residence for an arts enrichment program at a Galveston, Texas charter school, "Ambassadors Preparatory Academy".

The program, called "Ambassadors for Art", is led by school administrators and members of the community through the Gulf Coast Apollo Chapter of nonprofit volunteer service organization The Links, Incorporated.

The bust was one of 45 painted by artists nationwide which were displayed in Detroit's Museum of African American History, part of a project supported by the Smithsonian Institution.

[7] The Church-related themes in his art he attributes to formative experiences with his mother at their local house of worship, "Beulah Land Church".

"[19] As an artist who focuses on African American history, Ellis intentionally does not approach its difficult chapters from a position of pain: "I have to be careful what I do [...] there's a power to art.

The city offered Ted art clubs and opportunities to design murals for school and create signs for special events.

Ted was Art ambassador for the City and County of Galveston,[23] TX celebrating 150th anniversary of Juneteenth showcasing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.

[4][6][15][31] Ellis was the Heritage Arts Festival's winner of the Pallette Award for Impressionism in 2002[15] In 2005, he was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

[15] Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in 2005 recognized Ted Ellis as a historical artist[15][27] and mounted a week-long exhibition of his paintings in the Audubon Zoo's Tropical Bird House.

The exhibit, Reflections of African American Culture: Paintings by Ted Ellis, was co-hosted by the Audubon Nature Institute.

[34] In 2010, New Orleans African American Museum recognized Ellis as an Art Ambassador and hosted an exhibition of his work, "Sumpt'n to See, Native Son Comes Home".

[5] Ted Ellis' art has been purchased by celebrities like Bryant Gumbel, Angela Bassett, Johnnie Cochran,[11] Blair Underwood,[6] Susan L. Taylor, Joyce M. Roche, Spike Lee and Brad Pitt.

[citation needed] In 2017, T. Ellis received proclamation from The Senate of the State of Texas for his exhibition Pride, Dignity and Courage: celebrating African-American History and Culture".