Elizabeth L. Greene, Lewisburg, KY

botanical drawing

Elizabeth Greene grew up in Chicago, but her family had roots in Kentucky; both of her parents graduated from Berea College, and influenced her artistically. Her parents took her camping and she states, “I was fascinated as a child, with all things growing in the wild, stopping to study form, small details and the many subtle color variations that can be found in one plant.”

After leaving a career in banking, Elizabeth began to draw seriously. She moved to the country and started an herb garden which included wildflowers transplanted from the woods. She states, “I started putting my drawings on note cards out of frustration in not finding ‘just the right card’ in stores.”

Elizabeth prefers drawing outdoors from the actual plant, and sometimes brings cut flowers into her studio to draw. When plants are rare – she takes photos on site and uses these images to complete her drawings. Elizabeth starts with a #4 pencil, completing the entire sketch and then going over it with ink. She uses Prisma color pencils to shadow, layer and blend the colors. Elizabeth scans and prints her cards herself and continues to add new plants, including the insects that visit them, to her repertoire.

Elizabeth has expanded her wildflower and plant study by researching her subjects. She has begun including text on the back of her notecards, to share her ever growing knowedge of these favorite subjects.

Works by Elizabeth Greene can be found at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Berea, KY.