Elizabeth Berry
A Toronto-based visual artist, Elizabeth Berry travels for a large part of every year in search of gardens in bloom and rustic houses that inspire her. From old houses and small shops of Toronto that she originally painted to hone her craft in watercolour, she expanded her sources of inspiration and nowadays visits Northern Ontario, South of England, the Caribbean and Holland.
In all these locales, it is a world of natural beauty, stability and tradition that she portrays. Expressed in vivid colours, flooded with sunlight, this happy universe is ideal as much as it is real. Most recently Elizabeth has travelled to Venice, and the Greek islands of Santorini and Mykonos and Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.
As a school girl, Elizabeth received encouragement from her mother for her drawings, but didn't pursue a career in arts. She became a teacher and then a book editor. A part-time art course convinced her to immerse herself in art studies full time. The success was immediate and overwhelming.
Her first participation in the Toronto Outdoor Exhibition, in 1982, brought her the Toronto Archive Award for water colour; subsequent showings earned her the Best in Watercolour prizes in 1986 and 1987. One of her works was selected as the present to the mayor of Chongqing, China (former siter city of Toronto). Most recently Sonja, Queen of Norway has purchased 4 of Elizabeth's watercolours from a Caribbean Gallery.
The following teachers at the Ontario College of Art had their influence:
Danis Meijas, Aba Bayevsky, and Cinkok Tan - watercolours
Eric Friefield and John Gould - drawing
Artists that Elizabeth admires:
Maurice Prendergast - Figurative studies
Childe Hassam - Flowers by the sea
Impressionists especially Monet and Degas
The Group of Seven especially Tom Thompson, McDonald and Harris
Elizabeth's work accomplishes several functions. As a chronicler, she records examples of traditional architecture in places she visits and also documents children on location by the schools and churches in the Caribbean. As an artist, Elizabeth promotes the idea of art in everyday life; she can be seen in remote places across her native Ontario, painting Northern landscapes, Georgian Bay and Muskoka Lakes, as her work has expanded in themes and interests. Elizabeth Berry embodies with ease the idea of a woman as a bona fide outdoor artists, with her portable easel, foldable table and a trademark umbrella - a role long reserved exclusively for select men in any society.
Through talent and determination, Elizabeth Berry challenged and overturned every rule in the book: she successfully exchanged two stable careers for an endeavour in art; and in addition she proved that fine art doesn't have to wait for decades to achieve mass appeal. Her works are found in corporate offices and private collections in Canada and world wide. She also donates her works for fundraising campaigns of several non-profit organizations.