A longtime environmental activist and published poet as well as an artist, Ellen Spencer creates paintings that explore the themes of femininity, the environment, and the strength of a healthy body and spirit.   In her innovative, richly textured works, Spencer uses a combination of traditional paints and unorthodox media such as dried herbs and other natural objects.   Abstract and sophisticated, these works invoke a primitive strength and sense of universal unity: through a spectrum of natural colors and textures inspired by earth and atmosphere.   Spencer's art seeks to uncover the dark beauty inherent in the organic world.   At once ebullient and elegant, Ellen's paintings describe the timeless, innate link between humans-particularly women- and the environment.   Spencer has participated in numerous solo and group shows throughout the United States and has won many awards for her art.   Originally from the Boston area, she now lives and works in Oakland, California.