Elizabeth J. White - In the Heart of my Art

Elizabeth J. White

United States, Easley, South Carolina

Mediums: Acrylic, Watercolor, Oil, charcoal, ink

Style: I call it free style, for I am self taught

 

New Years Festival ©  For my pen-pal Nippon a Buddhist monk. He taught me much of his way of life and desire to come to America.

 

I am a self taught artist. I enjoy creating and attempting to capture moments of life. I go by the old adage the best things in life or free and I try to freeze frame those things of life with my art.

From children at play, a small creek running through a trail, the view of a roaring water fall, the sunset, or the sun rise........... to a old grandmother who has gathered the children around to tell a story.... and in all my work I leave a cross some easy to find and some a little tougher.

 

Please tell us about your first art project.

My memory of my first art project would have to be when my family was going on another one of our many long trips. This was the life of a military family, we traveled often. On this trip my dad let the three of us children choose a activity to pass the time, for my brother a magnetic chess set, little sis a dolly and for myself something to draw with and on. That was the spark, and I have been at it every since. It is me, not just a part of me.

 

Art and Music

I love country , gospel, jazz, classical, and more

 

Is there something you are trying to get across to viewers in your art?

You can enjoy the simple things of life, and life doesn't always have to be about money. It can be about the leaves as they change color, the view of a small church on a hillside overlooking fields of grain.

 

What is your creation process?

I know many artists who plan ahead but for me, I love to create in the moment, like for example, a thought will pop in my head, and I draw a rough sketch, then I get my painting surface and start painting and adding to the idea,. For example, I have a painting of monks, 16x20 Acrylic on stretched canvas, that started as a idea in my head, of a pen-pal I had as a child, who was a Buddist monk named Nippon. I remembered things he would tell me in his letters of their way of life and the culture. One specific thing was about New Years Celebration, and how they would go into the villages, with their plates, and the people would feed them but on this occasion a special feast was set, And then the painting began, first from memory of the homes, and the colors the monks wore then I started to paint the ground, the sky, and the trees then I added the huts, the lady's serving the food, and the monks waiting for their food,

 

Art Inspirations

I never really thought about that, but I guess my answer would be, God, Family, Country
and the beauty all around me, as I tell my grandbaby when she ask what I'm gonna paint, I just say granny's world.

 

Exhibitions

I've had two small shows at Haggan Gallery Greenville, SC
Art of Recovery 2011, 2012, 2013
Art In The Park 2012, For three months had work displayed at Starving Artist Cafe' Easley SC
Been recently Juried into a festival in Greenwood, SC,

 

Have you been selling your art?

I sold five works during my first show one, called Banjo Boy sold for three hundred dollars
sold smaller ones, for 55 to 60 and another 16x20 for 250.00 and just recently sold a small work for 40 dollars

 

How do you promote your art online?

That is the tough part for me, but I have a Facebook page and I'm on Twitter. I have put my art in a cafe, every art event I can get into, constantly working on gaining exposure for my art.

 

Influences

My early inspiration was my uncle Ron, who is a now retired commercial artist for an air line.
He gave me tips about horses, and I still have the drawing I did of a horse, that I showed him when he came back to SC when I was 10, in 1971. I keep it in my portfolio book. Then there is Norman Rockwell And Thomas Kinkade the Painter of Light

 

Please tell us about another artist

There are so many artist I admire, I guess the artists that I most admire, to my knowledge doesn't show publicly, but should. Her name is Paula.

 

Tell us something interesting in your life

We traveled many places, always the new kid in school. I was in an event in Okinawa when I was young, called girls day.

 

Have you ever been annoyed by anything said about your art?

I really can't think of anything annoying, I love honest straight forward opinions and crave the feed back, people know what they like and what they don’t.

 

Any regrets?

That I waited this late in my life to expose my art 

Future plans?

I am hoping to develop my craft, and maybe get sponsorship to work with some masters, and get some formal training, I want to one day have a studio gallery that will be open to the public, and give back - have a place that people can come see my work and have art auctions for causes. I also have goals about making my studio what I call a open door policy and make everyone welcome. I also want to one day provide wall space and more to those struggling to create, and get their work seen.

 

Any advice for artists?

Yes, don't feel defeated if you get rejection. I think art is subjective. What one person may not like, someone else will. The main thing I think about art - if you start out doing it for the money, who knows if you'll make big money or not. For me art is something I have been doing for a long time, and no matter how good I attempt to be, there will always be someone that is better. Art is from the soul. Keep your self free. You don't have to paint like everyone else. The main thing if art is your passion, don't give up, or ever think it is too late. I am 51 and just emerging with my art in public.

 

Elizabeth J. White - In the Heart of my Art

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethJWhiteGallery