ARTIST STATEMENT

"In each of my drawings I endeavor to celebrate nature within a time and space beyond the place of inspiration. In this way, I invite the viewer to enter my world and, by so doing, make it their own.

Not all my subjects are mature and statuesque trees. Often a simple copse or hedgerow that has stood for many years unnoticed catches my eye. Nature in its untended form inspires me, whether it be bowed by weather or hindered by sharing light and space with its surroundings. In my work I try to convey the clarity, beauty and simple dignity of the commonplace, otherwise so easily taken for granted.

Whether it be a woodland of my native English beech or stately conifers of the Pacific Northwest, the process is always the same. I start with highly detailed sketches, notes and photographs to record overall shape and minutia. Back in my studio I sketch a light outline then overlay with pen, inking in every detail using a hand-held magnifier.

In this way I blend the precision of a Victorian engraver with a contemporary appreciation of light and texture. The intricacy of my drawing is achieved with a reversed crow quill nib. Every pen stroke is final and so the finished picture is slowly built, one detail at a time, from the foreground, back."

BACKGROUND

Elizabeth is a resident of Indianola, Washington. Over the past 25 years her work has not only been influenced by an English heritage and her adopted Pacific Northwest, but also a sabbatical of several years during which she spent much time living in Asia. In 1990 the BBC produced a documentary detailing her method of work. She was a selected artist for both the English National Trust and Friends of the Earth. A series of portraits to commemorate The English Woodland Trust's foremost Preservation Sites were issued as a limited edition.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

2004
• Selected Artist 'Extreme Home Makover' Winter Series 1st Edition

2003
• The Tree, The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Celebration of the Trees, University of Oregon Museum of Natural History, Eugene, OR
• Artist in Residence, The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Featured Artist for April, Barnes and Noble, Silverdale, WA
• Black and White The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Selected Artist - East Shore Gallery, Bellevue, WA

2002
• The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Reflections, WPW Juried Exhibition, Olympic College, Bremerton, WA
• WPW Annual Juried Exhibitiion, Burien Gallery, Burien, WA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2003
• Celebration of the Trees, University of Oregon Museum of Natual History, Eugene, OR

2002
• The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA

1998
• Northwest College of Art - Freeman Gallery, Poulsbo, WA

1990
• Serenade Gallery, Barbican, Plymouth, Devon

COMMISSIONED WORKS

• 2002 Featured Artist in Winter 2001/Spring2002 Exhibition magazine
• 2001 Series of drawings of Western Red Cedars for United Nations Commission for The Rights of the Child
• 2001 Douglas Fir, tree preservation portrait for Dr. Nancy Mcfadden, Eugene
• 2000 Featured Artist, Winter 2000/Spring 2001 Exhibition magazine
• 1999 Portrait of Sorbus scorpulina for The Washington Park Arboretum featured in their winter bulletin; subsequently offered as a fundraiser
• 1991 Series of woodland portraits to commemorate The English Woodland Trust's foremost Preservation Sites. Issued as a Limited Edition
• 1990 BBC documentary which included an interview and detailed the artist's approach from first sketch to completed picture
• 1990 Limited edition prints of Six English Trees issued through the London Sunday Times
• 1986 Illustrations for Moments, a collection of work by the poet Jean Whitfield

TEACHING
2003
• Demonstration - Celebration of the Trees, University of Oregon Museum of Natural History, Eugene, OR
• Gallery Talks, Demonstrations and Artist in Residence – Bainbridge Arts and Crafts
2002
• Workshop – Drawing from Nature – Bainbridge Arts and Crafts
• Gallery Talk – The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts
1991
• Learning from Galleries – Presentation and Display of Art and Design, NCUK, Shah Alam, Malaysia
1982
• The Artist Teaches – Workshop in Drawing from Nature - ages 7 thro 10 - Bere Alston School
1980 – 1986
• Summer School – Freedom in Art and Design – ages 7 thro 10 Bere Alston School, Devon, England

AWARD

2002
• Modern Postcard Company Award for "Alders at the Pond"

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Women Painters of Washington