BIOGRAPHY FOR ELIZABETH (LIZ) CAMPBELL
My artistic career actually began only about fifteen years ago, when I was in the process of searching for a different meaning in my life and a stronger spiritual connection. The death of a close family member and the subsequent anger at the process of dying caused me to question my God and the religious beliefs that I had held all my life. Searching for ways to distract myself, I began to journal and returned to some long suppressed drawing abilities, which I had enjoyed in high school. My first attempts were “awful”, but I received great pleasure in doing this and I persisted because it calmed my soul and gave me satisfaction as well. As I continued, I found myself looking at things differently. Nature was, and continues to be a major inspiration. In nature, I began to see the beauty in all things big and small, and even in things dead and dying – discarded leaves fallen on a fresh carpet of snow, dried seed pods of milkweed giving up their tightly held seeds to the wind, a decaying log sprouting tiny buds of fungi, withered flowers still clinging desperately to the stem of the mother plant and even the abandoned houses of us humans being taken over by the forces of nature.
I have great love of detail, and use my media of choice – colored pencil – to produce paintings with a translucency and vividness of color that I find I cannot do with any other medium. As my artistic abilities have expanded, there has been a corresponding expansion in my spiritual life. Before my art became a vital part of my life, I had difficulty seeing the beauty of the small miracles that comprise most of our lives. Seeing them in nature has permitted me to find these elements in my own life. I have also discovered that there is as much joy and satisfaction in a “work in progress” as there is in the final product. I, too, am a “work in progress”.
As my creative side has blossomed, I have discovered many other ways to express it. For several years I have taught art to both children and adults but have now decided at 59 years of age to focus more on what I want to do although I must admit that teaching gave me great pleasure. I have also discovered that I can express my great love of detail in black and white graphite renditions of my subject whether it is a still life, a scene in nature or a portrait. I have discovered that watercolour with its fluidity is a good foil to the detail that I love in both colored pencil and graphite. Recently I have also explored my creativity in fibre arts and am still finding ways to use yarn to do that. I love making my own greeting cards. I am also in the process of creating a series of ACEO's called Noah's Ark. I invite you to read more about these other creative endeavours in my blog as I explore them as a way of creative expression.
My life is very wonderful and full. I have two children and four grandchildren. I live on a farm with my husband and have a huge garden. I work part-time with an organization called L'Arche Arnprior which I love. I travel whenever I can and love to go on painting vacations. Some of my recent work reflects a two week visit to France last year. I am a member of the Arnprior Day Painters – a wonderful group of painters who meet weekly and provide encouragement and stimulation.
