Liz Thoresen

“My life-long creative pursuit has been a source of contrast, pleasure, and discovery. One of the things I most enjoy about creating is not being able to predict an outcome. Often, I will I begin my landscapes with a preconceived idea of what the end result “should” look like and become the observer as the painting unfolds into its own interpretation. Other times, my abstracts unveil themselves unannounced. I allow color, texture, line, shape, pattern, and scale to dictate its own direction. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I draw inspiration from the surrounding landscapes and the lighting unique to the area. Ideas materialize from my emotional response to conversations, quotations, man-made and natural shapes, from animals, humor, and yes, even exercise, where they are filed away in my imagination to emerge at a later time.

Painting with acrylics allows me the ability to layer paint and change direction on a whim. The magic that happens when color blends on paper, canvas, or board excites me and leads me from painting to painting. Starting a new canvas keeps me uncomfortable enough to not become complacent and keeps me moving forward. We should always be moving forward.”

Liz Thoresen pursued her artistic passion from an early age and became an Art teacher in 1973. Her interest at the time was Ceramics and she moved to Australia where she taught High School art and Ceramics at Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne. After returning to the United States in 1980, she and her husband owned and operated a veterinary clinic for 25 years. She has since retired and has been able to pursue her passion of painting full time. An award wining artist, she has participated in many local and national group and solo shows. Her art has been published in two books and on the cover of the international magazine, the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association. She is a member of the the International Society of Acrylic Artists, and the International Society of Experimental Artists.

She is represented by the Geezer Gallery, Portland, Oregon.

Publications:
Her painting “The Ride of Your Life” was included in Lesley Riley’s books “Inspirational Quotes Illustrated” and “Quotes Illustrated” and her painting “Gizzy” was on the cover of the February 2015 issue of the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association. “Staying the Course” was selected to be included in the Q1 2018 international magazine, 1340.

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EXHIBITIONS // EXCHANGES // MEDIA