Avant Guardians

By Leticia Gonzales

Dedicated to Art

Painter inspired by the smallest of details

For 48-year-old Elizabeth Lange, art started as a means of self-expression that developed throughout her childhood.

“I have enjoyed creating art, making up songs and stories since I was a child. When I was preschool age, my family lived in the Arizona desert, and it was my job to help tend our goats; my days were spent making up stories and songs, to entertain the friendly creatures,” Lange said. “In high school I realized that I was good at communicating with others through my art. I began creating visual works like paintings and drawings as a way for me to continue to tell the stories that were in my mind.”

That early introduction stuck with her, influencing her decision to study art in college instead of astronomy as she’d intended.

“I grew up thinking that studying art was not a career choice — that it wasn’t something people went to school for.”

She went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Minnesota State University and graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a double major in painting and printmaking.

“My schooling and training taught me that making art and coming up with new, creative, fresh ideas takes dedication and commitment. You have to be willing to make sacrifices for this commitment — to stay in the studio while others go out to a bonfire, to say ‘not this time’ when you’re invited to a family get together. This kind of dedication has been one of my most powerful strengths through the years.”

With a primary focus on acrylic landscapes, Lange said she paints just about everything. However, she tends to gravitate toward semi-abstract landscapes. “I also really enjoy creating world maps in my own unique style. I use a vast variety of colors, layer upon layer. I love the ability to include texture through direct application of various media, to the actual physical brush strokes. I love adding texture you can see and texture you can touch. The forms that arise and are hinted at in this building of layers and texture are organically created for me to then work with.” There is also no shortage of innovation when it comes to her creations. “I pull my inspiration from just about everything I see. For example, I will notice the color of the grass or how the sun shines on a bed of flowers. Or I’ll hear a conversation in passing from strangers and that will spark my interest to create something new. Mostly I am inspired by how you and I will see the same object but come away describing this object completely differently. I am passionately drawn to talking about individual reality perceptions in a visual way.”

She is working on a series of large-scale semi-abstract landscapes, featuring a limited color pallet.

“My goal is to create work that helps the viewer destress and heal. I have discovered that I absolutely love starting my paintings with watercolor as a stain and then building layer upon layer on top of those first stains and those first marks with acrylic. As this builds up, I create a place that has depth and heart and meaning.”

Lange is set to launch online painting courses, is working on pieces for a solo show and is commissioning pieces.

She can be reached at EELFineArt@gmail.com.