SALE! Start your year with EBSQ for just $6.50/month! Click here for details.

Elizabeth Fiedel

Artist's Interview

How long have you been creating?: I think all kids love to express themselves creatively, and like everyone else I began creating as soon as I could hold crayons and squish Play Doh. The important question to me is what made me continue creating after my playmates went on to other interests. The answer to that is: A) In my mind I was already an artist, and B) I was blessed with parents who valued creativity and encouraged me. After I had a family, I took a long hiatus from painting. I concentrated on raising our children and went to work to help support the family. Apparently creativity can't be denied however, and during that time my creativity found other outlets, whether it was working in the garden, doing craft projects, or making a Halloween costume. I even looked forward to helping my girls with their school projects. After our children went off on to college and careers, I gleefully got my out my paints and brushes again!

What is your medium of choice?: I love everything about oil paint. Well, not the taste, but I love the look, the smell and the feel of it. It's so versatile...it can be thick and globby or a subtle glaze.

What are your motivations for creating?: Well, the urge to create is always present, but I am usually specifically motivated by something I see. I want to create beautiful paintings so others can see things and feel about them the way I do.

What other artists and movements inform your work?: There must be hundreds of artists who I admire and have learned from, but there are three artists in particular whose work has made a personal impact on me. They are Vincent Van Gogh, Mark Rothko, and Gustav Likan. There is nothing as amazing as seeing original works that speak directly to one's spirit. That is how their art affected me.

What do you find stimulating right now? How does this influence your creative process?: Landscapes are always interesting to me. I do quite a bit of travel by car, and I'm always struck by the changing scenery. Wherever I go I'm thinking, "How would I paint that?" I challenge myself to translate what I see into an image on my canvas.

Read anything good lately?: Having a full-time job and aspiring to a second career as an artist takes up a lot of time. I don't do a lot of recreational reading anymore, but if you are interested in understanding what inspires loyalty in your customer base, a fun and informative read is Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results, by Jack Mitchell.

Any art-related "resolutions" as we look forward to 2008?: I guess just that I want to do more work and better work. I feel like I have a lot of lost painting time to make up for.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and collectors to know about you and or your work?: Well, if you are looking for art that reflects angst or deep inner conflict, then my paintings will probably not appeal to you. There is enough conflict in the world already. My work come from pleasure and the joy of sharing it.