Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Beard.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I grew up in Youngstown, OH. I learned to be an artist from my mother who painted, sculpted, and drew for a living. I was always interested in drawing and painting portraits and people, inspired by the works at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. It was not until after getting my undergraduate degree at Miami University that I discovered the classical atelier method of learning. Paul Ingbretson runs a studio in Manchester, NH where artists draw and paint from natural light to learn and understand form. This was my first experience with such a rigorous and traditional technical training and I felt I had found a good fit. It took about 6 years of training at various classical schools to obtain the skills I needed. I finished my education at Grand Central Atelier in NYC and am still located in Queens. Even now, I am actively refining my ability to see and render form as I make art. Nature will always be my greatest resource for study. It is a blessing to have the city and its energetic culture to motivate and inspire the work I make. The ideas and narratives I look to put into paintings are a constant push to wake up and get out the door.
Please tell us about your art.
My work is a combination of figure, still-life, and landscape, inspired by straight forward observations of nature and months of meditation on the human experience. In my paintings, I am always striving for excellent objective beauty as well as conceptual integrity. The works are most often autobiographical but inspired by the human experience at large. My studies at Ingbretson Studio, The Academy of Realist Art Boston, and finally at Grand Central Academy in NYC are essential to my technical ability and appreciation of beautiful form in painting and drawing. The repeating themes and masterful techniques found in art, literature, and music are an indication of what has been long valued and help me to understand what I am already searching for in my own depictions.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
My experience as an artist has been a great challenge because of the nature of my work. Taking a month and sometimes many months on one painting is counter cultural. I have had people ask for me to move an object over or change the expression on a face without considering the time and effort needed to do so. Buying a painting can change your experience of life. It takes time to see beauty. I have found that the challenge can be to slow people down enough to care.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can be seen easily on my website, www.lizbeard.com and Instagram (my name is Elizabeard). I show and sell paintings and drawings with Williams Fine Art Dealers in Wenham, MA, and Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. Supporting my work is done best by buying a painting! I have a number of works on my website that are available and looking for a home!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lizbeard.com
- Phone: 330-261-2515
- Email: brynbeard@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/Elizabeard
Image Credit:
Joy Tomasko
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