Elizabeth Cotney

About the Artist:

Lizzie Cotney has lived in Baldwin County all of her life. Because she grew up in such a small town, she used art as a way of escaping day to day life. Ever since she was a little girl, you could always find her cooped up in her room with a set of markers or a paintbrush. 

Her art career truly began her sophomore year of high school, when she started to study different artists, media, and techniques. She has practiced multiple media throughout her career, from pastels, to watercolor, to oils. Although she considers watercolor as her favorite media, she has taken a year-long study to enhance her work with oil paints. 

No matter what media she uses, you will always find Lizzie creating or copying works of figures in nature. She loves to capture the natural beauty of the human body in the simplest ways possible. She hopes to continue her work at Auburn University next year, where she is majoring in child development and family studies. 

Artist Statement:

Throughout my artistic career, I have studied different media and have created many works of figures and simple forms. This past year, I have studied and copied techniques from the Impressionist Era. This has pushed me to paint things as they are, not what they should be or what they should look like. With this influence, I am able to highlight and promote the idea of natural, simplistic beauty. The simplest things in life are the most beautiful, and I hope that my art not only intrigues my audience, but that it enables them to find beauty in the simplest things around them.