{"id":15873,"date":"2017-03-01T14:23:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T14:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=15873"},"modified":"2017-03-01T14:23:43","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T14:23:43","slug":"icons-an-interview-with-artist-elizabeth-sutton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/icons-an-interview-with-artist-elizabeth-sutton\/","title":{"rendered":"Icons: An Interview with Artist Elizabeth Sutton"},"content":{"rendered":"
For art\u00a0infused with playful energy and impeccable style, look no further than the work of Elizabeth Sutton<\/a>. This young mom and lifelong New Yorker gave us the scoop on her latest series of paintings, the philosophy behind her unique use of color and how she maintains her incredible work ethic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ: Give us\u00a03 words that best describe your art.<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>My art is happy, vibrant and bright.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0Zodiac sign?<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m a December Sagittarius.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:<\/strong> Drink of choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:<\/strong> Normally I keep it simple with a good glass of wine, but I love sake with sushi.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0Talk to us about your first exposure to the arts.<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019ve lived in NYC my whole life, and the number of times I\u2019ve gone to every single museum in the city, I can\u2019t even count.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ: Do you remember the day you realized you wanted to do art full-time?<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>In October of 2015, I began painting again for fun and I shared some photos on Instagram. A few days later, one of my followers commissioned a piece and since then I haven\u2019t slowed down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0Talk to us about your process.<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>My process is very much intuitive. For the most part, I do not digitally plan my artworks\u2014I envision the works, mentally playing over different variations, and I put them straight onto wood. For my latest series, \u201cIcons,\u201d I have had to do some digital prep work to create proper shapes, but even for those works, the colors and shadows are crafted intuitively and are not predetermined. I think my ability to balance color and shape is where my strength lies. And although most who have observed my practice often comment that my work is so tedious that they don\u2019t understand how I have the patience to do it, I find it extremely meditative and therapeutic. Patience is not exactly my \u201cvirtue\u201d and most days I feel I can identify with ADHD, but when it comes to my art I could stand for 12 hours straight painting, perfectly content and at peace. And whereas many artists can work on piece for months, unsure of whether or not they are finished, my works definitely have a beginning and an end. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than placing the final detail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0You use a lot of bright color. Is there a reason for that? Do you have a favorite color that you always try to incorporate?<\/strong><\/p>\n ES:\u00a0<\/strong>My favorite aspect of what I do and what I create is that I make \u201chappy\u201d art\u2014for me, happiness and color equate to one another. I feel colors evoke happier energies. . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And I do have a favorite color (navy) but in my art, I am sometimes biased to primary palettes and rainbow palettes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n