Eickholt Gallery ::Elizabeth Anderson Michigan born Elizabeth Anderson has never known a time without art. From an early age, she had a great fascination with science and nature, and from that stemmed her desire to draw from it. After studying art and music in high school, she earned degrees in biology and illustration from the University of Michigan in 1999. She has since worked as a freelance scientific and biological illustrator in addition to pursuing painting. Due to her formal training in scientific illustration, her art is heavily based on the observation of the natural world. Nature and the relationships between science, art, and spirituality provide almost all of the inspiration for her work. How would you describe your style? "It is definitely based in Realism and illustration. I don't see a need to duplicate the world around me; I only like to pick and choose the details that I include in my work from it. There are very few aspects of nature that I feel cold be improved upon, so I try to emphasize its existing beauty instead." How would you interpret your work? "I try to show the beauty and detail of natural objects where it might not otherwise be seen. Often people see symbolism in the subject of a painting that I did not intend. I enjoy hearing these interpretations and find inspiration from them." What are your most important artistic influences? "The art of the Rennaissance, Andy Goldsworthy, Georgia O'Keefe, Benoit Mandelbrot, William Blake, Thomas Eakins. All of the biological world; especially creatures that are not often found beautiful by others, like insects and reptiles." back to artist list