Some do it for fame, some do it for freedom, and some do it because why the hell not? Elizabeth falls into the last category. Priding herself by her own personal motto of “skill, not talent,” Liz works in a space where pressure doesn’t exist because there is no expectation to be met other than to put paint on surface. Starting off watching Saturday morning cartoons, Liz drew inspiration from the animations she would see on the TV “Sailor Moon was a big inspiration, it introduced me to something I wasn’t used to, the colors, the effects, I was like woah this is some hyperactive shit, it inspired me to make something just as pretty or vibrant.” From there she fine tuned her ability based off character and shape observation “Some people are born with a gift, I don’t really remember practicing how to draw at a young age so I taught myself how to do something that others can do naturally.”
Of course everybody needs some fine tuning sooner than later eventually, by the time Liz had developed a bit of skill it was time to make a leap with her concepts, which eventually came from being a student of the craft. “Finding better artists, and seeing what they were doing, it helped me realize there’s really no limit to what I can do with so many styles out there, then from there I just wanted to be original.” By putting her originality on display, the goal is to create an indescribable feeling for those observing. After all, so many forms of art are designed to illicit emotions and ultimately make an impact. Liz is a firsthand testimony of this as she claims music to be her grandest inspiration when it comes time to start a new piece “Anytime I start a new piece the inspiration comes from music, I start to see images, colors, it’s like I make my own little world to a song.” Yet although the inspirations may always be set, switching things up is a huge part of being able to jump into new pieces.
Each move is thought out, crafted in a way to position each piece to be grander than the last, but just how easy is that? “The greatest challenge is getting started, how I want it to look, figuring out arrangements, colors, what my intention is, there’s a lot that goes into it.” When you’re the most important critic of yourself, it’s easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of a creative process. Although as an artist it may not be important to become the most popular artist, it is still important to Elizabeth to have purpose behind her work. “I’m the type of person who has to have everything planned out, so even though I do try to keep an organic flow I definitely try to balance out with planning and having a set schedule, I have a life to maintain so I have to find time for everything.” These are some of the unfortunate realities that an artist has to deal with, that although your world can be a get away, it is never truly an escape. “When I start a new piece, I’ll wake up early before work to work on it, when I get off I work on it, I have to put the time in.”
Although the work may seem taxing, it is ultimately the price to pay for realizing your dreams. “I didn’t actually start trying to really make work for showcasing until last year, before it used to just be a hobby, but it was something that I just couldn’t keep getting away from so I took it as a sign,” some things are just meant to run with, and it’s evident that’s exactly what she is doing. Moreover, aligning her work with identity has become increasingly important to Elizabeth, who claims she wants people to know her work before they get to know her. This is most likely why she doesn’t look to make her presence felt through a phone screen, as there can be a lack of authenticity provided by a double tap of a phone screen. “I have no expectations for when I go more public with my work, it’s about doing what I said I was going to do and what people do from there is not up to me, I just want to be grateful and stay in the moment.”
Yet the journey doesn’t just end with going public, the plan is to test out a range of different styles and mediums in order to give the fans different experiences. Elizabeth claims there’s already much to improve on “Just on technical terms my work is pretty two-dimensional, a little flat, so I’m practicing on using more space to support the subjects and make it more interactive.” However creating these standards for yourself can be a bit troubling as an artist, as she also claims to be guilty of comparing herself to her favorite artists and becoming a bit hesitant of taking baby steps and swinging for the fences because of the gaps between them. Since she doesn’t look to use popularity or intricate social media schemes as a crutch, the work is all Elizabeth has to prove herself, which leaves an unclear path for her to walk on, but a path she’s ready to take her own way through and it starts with leaving self-doubts at the starting line.
“Even if the self-doubt is real, it’s something I have to learn how to fix and be ok with, at the end of the day I taught myself how to do this because it was what I wanted.” Turning visions into reality is a goal for Elizabeth and she plans on bridging through to the culture through creativity. As she continues working towards these plans, Elizabeth is glad for the space of reflection that her work has brought to her as now she has something to truly always put her best foot forward for. Nonetheless, it’s nothing to lose her shit over, after all as she says “It’ll just be one of those things I hang around in life, but there’s a lot more to me than just art.” All we can do is wait and find out what’s in store.
