Concept

Most of Elizabeth’s paintings are spiritually inspired, except the occasional portrait or commissioned piece. Many paintings are spontaneous in their creative and evolutionary direction, with only music for inspiration. A lot of the time, the music would be Native American or New Age meditation; however, once in a while, U2 and loud rock & roll!  But whatever the motivation or creative catalyst may be, an image, a message, and part of Elizabeth’s own identity always flow onto the canvas from her heart and spirit; sometimes effortlessly, sometimes with great concentration, emotion, and maybe even a few tears… but always with sincerity, free expression, and boundless enthusiasm!

Style & Technique

Elizabeth has a unique style that has been described as “ethereal”. However, she describes it as being “Emotion and Motion”. Movement is very evident in her work to depict a passionate life. Elizabeth has also been described as portraying sensuality through her work. In answer to this, she states:
“We are sentient beings. So many people believe that sensuality and spirituality cannot co-exist. However, I believe they are the same. Passion is more than just a feeling; it is who we are!”

The Unwritten Signature

Elizabeth’s unique painting style is no different from that of any other great artist, in the sense that the tiny details of her brush strokes, the layering and flow of the strokes, and how paint and color are distributed within brush strokes can be as distinctive as fingerprints, and can be relied upon by experts to declare, “This is an Elizabeth Silk Original”!  Because of this “signature” style, Elizabeth’s work will always be recognizable as her own, and it’s largely responsible for the passionate, flowing nature of her images, appearing as though the paint is still liquid and forever in motion on the canvas. By way of examples, these excerpts from her masterpieces, “Self Love” and “Acceptance”, show how bold, coarse brush strokes combined with fine line detail (as shown on the right of each) result in a smooth, harmonious blend of form, presence, motion, and sensuality in the overall images (as shown on the left of each). While other artists might attempt to paint the same images in their style, they could never convey the “Silk Spirit” message of love, faith, and trust as infused by Elizabeth’s hand.

Commission Work

Rarely in the past did Elizabeth do portraiture commissions. The only ones done were where she was compelled to do so anonymously for someone who had a tragedy happen in their lives, like the loss of a child. Silk’s portraits hold a lot more meaning than a mere resemblance of a person; their spirit has to shine through their eyes. For Elizabeth to paint such a commissioned piece, the photograph must be large enough and have sufficient resolution to show all critical details (especially the eyes).

The Silk Spirit

Elizabeth has a unique style that has been described as “ethereal”.  Most of Elizabeth’s paintings are spiritually inspired. Elizabeth’s passion to reach and touch the soul is apparent in the intensity that is reflected in the eyes of her spirits and animals. The eyes are the windows to the soul. Love, compassion, pride, despair, anger, fear, introspection, understanding, intimacy, passion, and freedom – all are explored in Elizabeth’s creations. Careful attention is paid to evoke a unique response from every individual that casts eyes upon her work. The complexity of human emotion relays a feeling of fulfillment. In her own words – love is the basic ingredient; Do all things with love and your creation will be of the purest form. There is a magnificent feeling of fulfillment when seemingly nothing appears on the canvas, an image from the soul.