Inspiration surrounds me, the tea kettle on my stove, plants on my window sill, and the view from my window; all saying: “Draw me, no me, draw me first!”
Years ago, at Old Sturbridge Village, I saw an artist giving a demonstration on the “Art of Theorem Painting.” Round juicy plums came out of her brush like magic! Now, I’m in love with “stuff” always looking for that just right object. My painting becomes more than fruit, object, and backdrop. It is an environment of form, color, and light. My preferred medium is colored pencil, layers, and layers of colored pencil.
Sitting directly in front of my still-life set-up, I work slowly, pushing the colored pencil pigment into paper. Through repetition what is linear becomes solid form, an optical illusion. Patience is a virtue in the colored pencil medium. The only pencils I use have met the lightfast standards of the Colored Pencil Society of America according to the Blue Wool Scale and ASTM 6901. More information is on their web-site, cpsa.org. My preferred paper is Stonehenge, an acid free 100% cotton rag print-making and drawing paper that accepts many layers.
In addition to my work in colored pencil, I am a print-maker, doing linoleum blocks and monotypes using water-base block printing inks on Japanese papers made with kozo and mulberry plant fibers. My designs, primarily still-life subjects, are rich and intricate in detail. I never outgrew my finger paints and crayons.
An artist and print-maker with more than fifty years of experience, Liz has a tiny studio in Marlborough, NH filled with objects, plants and a view of gardens and trees to inspire her drawings. She has exhibited her award winning artworks throughout the New England area, and enjoys sharing her techniques at exhibitions and demonstrations. Liz is a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and their District Chapter 112, the Monadnock Area Artists Association, the Nashua Area Artists Association, and the Saxtons River Art Guild.