Elizabeth Patterson (artist)


Elizabeth Patterson is an American Photorealist artist whose color pencil drawings portray intricate and abstracted landscapes, often emphasizing the subjective quality that water brings to a composition.

Background

Originally from Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Patterson went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and relocated to the Los Angeles area in 1979. She worked in a variety of mediums and styles with a penchant for graphite and color pencil rendering. Patterson earned recognition from an early age, but her success as an emerging artist came to a halt in 1984 due to a severe injury that resulted in the complete loss of use of her drawing hand. The injury necessitated two years of intensive therapy treatment, and left Patterson uncertain that she would ever draw again. Consequently, she put her artistic pursuits aside and embarked on a different career path.

Rediscovering art

Patterson traveled to Hawaii in 1986 where she explored the undersea world. Little did she know, the visual impressions of this trip were committed to memory and would resurface many years later to inspire her color pencil drawings. Thirteen years later, her partner insisted that she return to her art career, and she was surprised to learn that her gift for drawing was still present despite her injury. The result was a series of aquatic drawings that catapulted the artist back into the world of creativity.

Present

"Patterson's unique expression of Photorealism is both incredibly realistic and simultaneously dreamlike, wavering between abstraction and hyperrealism."
She spoke about her art and process in an interview by Galerie Louis Carré.
Patterson's 2010 exhibition at Louis Stern Fine Arts earned her a glowing review by Los Angeles Times critic, David Pagel
Elizabeth Patterson is represented by and .

Exhibitions

Patterson: Exhibitions |publisher=pattersondrawings.com |date= |accessdate=2017-06-19