THE PAINTED LANDSCAPE

ELIZABETH HOLMES

// Elizabeth is a New York-based artist and photographer. She uses alternative and digital processes to capture vanishing and cultural landscapes through her photography and paintings. She thinks of her images as metaphors for our inner experiences, which tell us who we are. She shared with us a set of dreamy images of land and seascapes along the East End of Long Island that she made from photos with infrared film that she then hand-colours.

Elizabeth was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Long Island suburbs, but has spent her adult years in NYC and Westhampton. She is a fine art photographer who has photographed everything from disappearing ghost towns in the American West and iconic scenes along Route 66, to farms, vineyards, and waterfronts. “I am inspired by the spiritual qualities found in the land and seascapes around me. In my photographs, I use these images as metaphors for those experiences that connect us to our inner lives and define who we are,” she says. Her goals for the future are to create several architecture coffee table books, complete her new fine art print website and begin a new series on the New York waterfronts.

“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.”

John Lubbock

What draws you to the arts?

“When I engage with art, whether in a museum, gallery or through a live performance, I experience the world on a deeper, more intimate level. Art in all forms makes me feel inspired, connected and happy to be alive. Creating my own artwork gives me the opportunity to emotionally connect to the world around me. It feeds my creative spirit and gives me a sense of purpose.”

What do you like best about photo art such as the images you have shared with us?

“The hand-coloring process makes each photograph one of a kind. Through this process I am able to interpret a scene by adding a sense of mystery and timelessness with hand-coloring. It is my personal experience expressed on paper.“

Photographing with infrared film and then hand coloring on matte surface prints with oils and pencils, Elizabeth has created images of land and seascapes along the East End of Long Island that appear both dreamy and timeless. “Each piece is created to express the strong sense of place I have discovered along the Long Island’s coastline.”

We encourage you to also visit Elizabeth´s website and look at many more beautiful hand-coloured landscape photo artworks there. For her street photography from New York City, you can also visit her Instagram account (link below).

Click on the photos to see a larger image in original format with its title. Some images may be cropped for layout.