Ray Ellis studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art. His first solo exhibition was held in 1947 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

After serving four years in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ellis founded his own advertising agency in New Jersey and New York, but continued to paint in his spare time. During this period, he was elected to the American Watercolor Society, and his work was widely exhibited and received numerous honors.

In 1969, Ellis moved to Hilton Head Island, where he was able to devote more time to painting. He later lived in Savannah before returning north in 1989 and settling on Martha's Vineyard, where he maintained a home and studio with his wife, Teddi.

In the early 1980s, Ellis collaborated with Walter Cronkite on a series of fine art books celebrating America’s coastlines, including South by Southeast, North by Northeast, and Westwind. In 1992, he co-authored The Spirit of Golf with golf journalist Ben Wright.

His paintings of Savannah and Martha’s Vineyard were also published in separate volumes, including Ray Ellis’ Savannah & the Lowcountry and Martha’s Vineyard: An Affectionate Memoir. Later publications include Coastal Images of America and The Road to Ballybunion.

Ellis’s paintings are included in major museums and private collections throughout the country. His work hangs in American embassies in Geneva, Vienna, London, and Brussels. In 1999, he was commissioned by the White House to create a series of paintings of the Rose Garden, and in 2004 the Telfair Museums presented a major retrospective of his work.