Elizabeth “Eli” Brown is a mixed media artist who works in acrylics, watercolor, dry media and collage. She earned a BA from Augustana College, double majoring in Comparative Religion and Asian Studies and studying abroad in East Asia and France. This field of study has greatly influenced her art both aesthetically and philosophically. She continues to learn about spirituality, myth and folklore. These are fused with an interest in nature, science, science fiction, and a lifelong passion for art. With the exception of a few elective art courses in college, she is self-taught but has been further developing a narrative style at the School for Visual Storytellers, an online school for illustration. Her subject matter has a wide range—from the humorous, as seen in her Graffiti Animals series--to darker and more emotive topics.
“I love the edges of things—the stories that happen when disparate elements collide. My art is a physical expression of paradoxical interests and passions. Technology and nature, science and myth, life and death—when these things overlap, there is always tension, and sometimes a strange harmony. This idea is embodied by the crossroads symbol that frequently appears in my work.
Animals and mythic figures are the vehicle through which I tell these stories or express intense emotions.I have a deep love of canids—dogs, foxes, and wolves.They take center stage in many of my pieces.I love exploring the behavior of these animals and their place in the world and in our consciousness.”