Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Mooney.
Elizabeth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts, and my family was from Southie and Dorchester. When I was in high school, I took Saturday figure-drawing classes at MassArt. It was the first time that I began to take painting and drawing seriously. While in college, I worked many jobs and supported myself through my undergraduate studies. During that time, I experimented a lot with both music and painting. My connection to painting and printmaking continued to grow, and I began to explore different ways of mark making and image making. It was during this time in college that I decided to fully commit to becoming a visual artist.
After receiving my BFA in painting and printmaking from the Art Institute of Boston (now Lesley College of Art and Design), I got a job working for Boston based painter and printmaker Michael Mazur as his studio assistant. The 5 years that I spent working for Mike was pivotal for me as an artist. His generosity, creativity, and guidance left a major impact on my artwork and me.
In 2005, I moved to San Francisco to pursue my MFA in painting at California College of the Arts. I lived in the Bay Area for 3 years, and it was there that I began to experiment with kinetic sculpture in addition to painting and printmaking.
I moved to Pittsburgh in 2009, and began teaching painting and drawing classes at Carnegie Mellon University part time. During that time, I was awarded a Fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. My time at that fellowship impacted my artwork in such a positive way – I was able to really focus on my paintings and research during the several months of the residency. I returned back to Pittsburgh feeling recharged.
I returned back home to Boston in 2011. I now have a studio in Dorchester, where I continue to paint and make sculpture. I am currently faculty in the painting department at MassArt.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been a little bumpy – but exciting! One struggle was figuring out employment that would also allow me the time and flexibility to focus on my art.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your story. Tell us more about the business.
I am an artist that makes paintings, prints, and sculpture. My artwork is extremely layered, busy, and bright. My paintings are frequently landscapes that distort perspective and horizon. These distortions are deliberate in order to create a push and pull between foreground and background. I try to create an abstracted vantage of place in an attempt to challenge our ideas of beauty, perception, and space. I am critical of our accelerated experiences with nature and wonder what the long-term implications of this quickened pace may be. In my research I explore how technology, travel, and speed alter the way we perceive and interact with space.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think allowing yourself to be open to luck, chance, or new experiences is key. I have had a little good luck, but I thinks the key is in recognizing it when it happens.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elizabethmooney.com
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