Artist Spotlight: Get to know Liz St Andre, a featured artist in our current exhibit, Life Cycle.

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Favorite Seattle neighborhood.

I’m falling in love all over again with Columbia City since I recently joining Columbia City Gallery. Not only are the people incredibly welcoming and wonderful, there’s easy parking, fantastic restaurants, cute coffee shops, and tons of unique, independent stores.
But it’s too hard to pick just one since Seattle has so many great neighborhoods. I’ll always have a soft spot for West Seattle because it’s where I bought and fixed up my first house (an awesome little 1940s bungalow), cultivated my passion for gardening and met my husband.

Best advice you ever received?

One of my first painting teachers, Carrie Schmitt, said “replace fear with curiosity and comparison with gratitude.” Curiosity and gratitude are the perfect anecdotes to my anxiety and overthinking.
A big post-it note in my studio also reminds me to “JUST KEEP GOING” – can’t remember who said that (probably a lot of my teachers along the way!) but I think that’s brilliant advice too.

Favorite studio tool, and why?

My gel plates, both handmade and synthetic. With a surface this versatile, the creative possibilities are endless. I love the countless, beautiful ways I can transfer paint onto surfaces with this tool.

Where do you find inspiration?

In my garden and the woods. I notice light and plant combinations that spark new ideas and I’m able to gather fallen branches and leaves for my latest projects. But inspiration is everywhere! Finding it in unexpected places, like cracks in the sidewalk or the texture of ripped cardboard is the best.

What is something that always makes you smile?

How do you define success as an artist?

Success is when I am so absorbed in my process that everything else falls away and every move I make on a piece of art feels like endless possibility.

How has your style changed over time?

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

I grew up learning about Monet and the Impressionists from my painter/potter Mom and Ansel Adams from my photographer Dad so a combination of those artists, plus my parents.

Where are you from and how does that affect your work?

My Dad was a National Park Ranger and I grew up in Glacier Bay, Alaska watching glaciers calve, whales breech, salmon spawn and having bears wander through our yard. That closeness to nature nurtured a deep love of wild places and a passion for conservation.

What is the last book you read?

“The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin. This is a book I’ll be picking up for years and finding insight no matter what page falls open.

What is your favorite random fact?

“Freudenfreude” means joy in another person’s success. I fell in love with this word ever since I learned it in Brene’ Brown’s Atlas of the Heart (another great book). I’d like to make it (and the act of freudenfredue for that matter) part of our everyday vernacular.

What emoji do you use most often?

Does your art practice help you in other areas of your life?

Unequivocally, yes. In a world where I’m pulled in many directions with roles as mom, wife, dog-walker, daughter, friend, volunteer, housekeeper, gardener, cook, etc., being in my studio and making art makes centers me back to my whole self. In turn, I show up more joyfully in all the other roles that I’m very grateful to occupy.