For the next couple of weeks emotional abstracts, wildflowers and landscapes inspired by England, and painted by prolific artist Elizabeth “Liz” English can be seen in exhibition at West Elm. Liz will also be painting abstracts live in store on Thursday 12th November from 5-8pm and florals on Friday 13th November 12-3pm.
The self-taught creative does not shy away from use of color or grand strokes within her abstract pieces and even displays a sense of humor in her mixed media works. You can see more of her work on her aptly titled website www.eccentricallyenglish.org and purchase cards on Etsy. Liz says, “I have always been inspired by colours, how they work together and where they take me. It can be a field of flowers, a sunset, a quirky interior or just light playing on a pool of water.”
As well as the originals that you will find in West Elm, prints and cards of Liz’s work are available from the artist herself. And she goes on to describe some of her inspiration, “In Chinoiserie Chaos the inspiration came from an old chocolate tin I found in a French flea market that transported me to Matisse’s Provence.” You can see a similarly themed original Coral Chinoiserie in the West Elm exhibition, and Liz remarks, “I just have always been a bit Chinoiserie mad!”
Her cards are printed from original artworks many of them painted for a 30-day art quarantine challenge – one finished painting a day, every day, for thirty days; a task which Liz set herself at the start of lockdown, going on to sell the pieces and donating the proceeds to charities dear to her heart. Monies raised came from all corners of the globe with international patrons found all over, including Italy and the UK and if course Kuwait. Always one to ensure her art is useful as well beautiful Liz says the printed cards of her work are big enough to look handsome in a frame, “So, a gift and a card in one!”
But having seen these stunning works in person, nothing compares to the joy of viewing the finished artworks, framed and within touching distance. You can see every brush stroke and revel in the thought processes of the delightfully dab handed English.
I have always loved West Elm’s interiors- my home is testament to that and my art has always sat alongside the pieces I have chosen from their beautiful contemporary pieces.
Liz English on the West Elm exhibition
Liz goes on to say, “Having the amazing opportunity to exhibit my art in West Elm is like inviting people into my home, so really quite personal, but on a much larger scale with even more beautiful pieces to complement my art…and no tidying up required! It’s a huge honour.”
The exhibition at West Elm, Grand Avenue, The Avenues starts on 6th November for two weeks. More examples of works by Liz English can be seen on www.eccentricallyenglish.org. Visit the EccentricallyEnglish shop on Etsy to purchase packs of cards with 6 prints. For direct enquiries email eccentricallyenglish@gmail.com, and follow @eccentricallyenglish16 on Instagram.
