Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisabeth Sullivan.
Elisabeth, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve been drawing since before I can remember. The desire has just always been there. In fact, my mother tells me she thought I would be an artist because I was drawing eyelashes on my stick figures when I was just 2 years old, and I would draw and color for hours. I guess I was pretty easy to entertain…….and I still am! All I need is something to draw on and something to draw with. Inspiration is all around me and imagination is always with me. My formal art education began with high school art classes in my hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan. While in high school I twice had work selected for the highly competitive annual regional exhibition of high school student art. I was also commissioned by my high school’s Athletic Director to design and paint a mural in his office .I went on to study fine art in college. I spent a year at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, and three and a half years at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, where I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Design Illustration in 1988. After college I moved to Austin, Texas. I bartended to pay the bills while taking any freelance work I could find including illustration, graphic design, mural and sign painting. Finding only sporadic freelance work, I decided to try a different avenue. Using the skills I learned in my college airbrush classes, I began airbrushing T-shirts and other apparel with my original art and sold them at local art and craft fairs. As my business became more successful, I moved on to designing a unique line of organic cotton apparel that I sewed together, hand painted and hand dyed. I sold my clothing at art festivals throughout the western states. In the spring of 1997 my art fair circuit brought me to Southeastern Arizona for a month. I fell in love with the area and moved to Tucson that fall. I continued with the clothing business for a few more years but painting has always been my true passion and in 2001 I decided to pursue that dream. Throughout the ten years I was making a living with my wearable art, I never stopped drawing and painting. I kept a working sketchbook, painted regularly and was often commissioned for murals. Inspired by my new surroundings, my sketchbooks overflowed with ideas and I spent the next few years developing a body of work that would bring my ideas to life. I had no difficulty in choosing my subject matter. I have always been inspired and fascinated by the incredible forces of nature and the magnificent creatures that inhabit this beautiful planet. I have always heard you should paint what you love so that’s exactly what I decided to do! I started out showing my acrylic on canvas paintings locally at art festivals and gallery shows. Seeking a broader base of collectors, in 2006 I began exhibiting at art festivals across the country, participating in some of the most prestigious fairs in the nation. San Diego became a frequent destination both for art festivals and to vacation. I found myself making the trip out there as often as I could and my art reflected this. In 2011 I made the move to San Diego County and I currently reside in Encinitas.
My artwork is available in galleries as well as art festivals and is widely collected. My paintings and murals can be found in private residences and corporate collections, as well as hospitals and other medical, therapeutic and dental facilities in both the San Diego area and across the country. I’ve completed several public art projects including painting banners for Encinitas Arts Alive 2015-2018, painting a mural on a dumpster for Encinitas 101 association, and painting 8 large mural panels for the Little Italy association that are currently hanging on a construction fence on kettner Blvd in Little Italy.
I’m involved in several conservation organizations. I’m a member of the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Pacific Whale Foundation and the World Parrot Trust. I’m also a member of the Surfrider Foundation and I donate artwork every year for the San Diego Chapter’s annual Art Gala fundraiser. I feel the work these organizations do is very important. Through my art I hope to raise awareness and promote the desire to protect and conserve the beauty and diversity of nature.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I primarily work in acrylics on canvas, but I also do murals. My main inspiration is this beautiful planet we call home and the amazing creatures that surround us. My paintings are a visual representation of the impact nature has on my senses fueled by my imagination and dreams. I’m interested in creating a peaceful, happy mood, evoking fond memories of a time or place, and arousing curiosity. I leave the story in my “dreamscapes” open to interpretation, inviting the viewer to experience the scene in their own way.
What I really hope people will take away from my images is a sense of peace, awe and childlike wonder, and most of all happiness! And if through my art I can make someone smile, grow an appreciation for animals and nature, then hopefully we are one step closer to preserving our home for the future. When I’m out in nature I feel small, insignificant…..but in a good way. Little human problems become what they are- little, human problems. And they just disappear with every crash of a wave, every chirp of a bird, every passing cloud. This is what I hope to convey with my art.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
It’s always been incredibly difficult to be an artist, but it keeps getting harder and harder. Expenses keep rising significantly as sales keep dropping. Lately a “good show” is a few hundred dollars over breaking even. Galleries are going out of business left and right, there is an insane amount of competition for online sales……..all this time my cost of materials is rising, show fees are rising, rent is rising uncontrollably……. I think most people appreciate art and want it in their lives, but I think with the extreme cost of housing here in San Diego and other parts of California, people’s budgets are so stressed that even inexpensive artwork has become an unnecessary luxury. I have found that recently a $20 print is my best selling item. It’s not because people don’t appreciate the original art or would like to have a bigger piece, it’s just what their budget will allow.
I think the best thing cities like San Diego can do to encourage and help art and artists is low cost living/work spaces for artists. Especially situations where artists can invite the public to their home/studio with open studio tours and other events. I find when I exhibit at festivals people want to know if they can come visit my “studio”. I currently live and work in 300 sq. ft. as it’s all I can afford (and it’s still ridiculously expensive!) and I would never discourage anyone from stopping by…..However, if you have a studio with a group of other artists it makes it a destination and people will make a day of it. There are areas of San Diego where there’s a group of artists’ studios, but North County is definitely lacking in this. The other area that cities can help encourage art is in the public art sector, and I think the county is doing a good job of that.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work can be viewed from my website www.elisabethsullivan.com
Prints can be ordered online from my website
In person at my home studio in Encinitas by appointment 520-440-5436
Public murals can be seen on Kettner Blvd. between Beech and Cedar in Little Italy, downtown San Diego. I travel across the country to show my art, but In the San Diego area you can find me at two Art Festivals –
Mission Federal ArtWalk in Little Italy the last weekend in April
ArtWalk @ Liberty Station the 2nd weekend of August
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elisabethsullivan.com
- Phone: 520-440-5436
- Email: elisabethsullivanfineart@gmail.com
- Instagram: @elisabethsullivanfineart
- Facebook: @elisabethsullivanfineart
Image Credit:
Elisabeth Sullivan
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