I instantly fell in love with Elisabeth Mayville's girls and women, all seen from the back. We don't see their faces and can only imagine how they are, how they feel, and this contains a little, intriguing mistery.
Elisabeth was born and raised in Michigan. In 2006 she earned her BFA and has been working at being an artist and illustrator ever since (tough she only went full-time two years ago). She currently works out of her home studio while her 1-year-old son sleeps in his bedroom next door.
Elisabeth Mayville's self portrait.
WHEN DID YOU START BEING AN ARTIST?
Like most people I started drawing as a child and it just sort of grew from there. I loved art all through school and ended up majoring in Fine Art in college. That sort of cemented the direction of my life and career.
WHO INFLUENCED YOU?
I love Fairfield Porter, Richard Diebenkorn and David Park. I’m always finding new painters to admire, both those will probably be my main three for the rest of my life.
WHAT MAKES YOUR WORK SPECIAL?
Oh boy. I’m not great at self-promotion, but I’ll give it a whirl. I like my paintings because they calm me down. In addition I find them very special because they’re a visual record of the things that I have seen, whether it be a landscape or a grapefruit.
WHERE DO YOU LOVE TO WORK?
I work pretty exclusively in my studio in my house. It works for now, but if I picture my ideal working situation it would be in a building that is just my studio, not also my home. It would be surrounded by woods on three sides and on the fourth, south side there would be a lot of windows and a quiet lake.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SELL ON ETSY?
I had a few paintings leftover from a holiday art fair so I thought I’d see if I could sell them on Etsy. I priced them too low (a chronic problem of mine), and they sold quickly. It was great and it motivated me to start my career as a professional artist.
YOUR MANTRA
“Don’t be lazy!” I need a little kick now and then.
REASON TO BUY ART
I buy art because it enriches my life. Plus I spend so much time at home that I really need to be surrounded by beautiful things that somehow remain interesting and unknowable over time.
