Liz’s medium of choice is watercolor because she enjoys its transparent nature, versatility, and beautiful luminosity. Liz often hears that realism is not a painting style commonly associated with watercolor. While it’s true that some watercolor artists paint in a loose style, Liz’s paintings reflect her desire to record her subjects and surroundings with a high level of detail. Because watercolor is such a versatile medium, there’s really no limit to what can be achieved.

Liz’s palette is a carefully curated selection of transparent and semi-transparent pigments. She preserves the whites of the paper by leaving them unpainted.

Liz achieves a realistic look through the use of many washes and layers. She starts her work with a thin wash, using an underpainting technique to establish tonal values. Then, using a wide range of watercolor techniques, she paints in layers, meticulously building up the intensity and depth of color. Small paintings might take several weeks to finish, while her larger pieces could take months.

Liz is passionate about portraying plants in a botanically and scientifically accurate way. She always strives to achieve a high level of detail and highlight the delicate beauty of each plant: the beauty that we often take for granted.

For Liz, botanical art is a wonderful way to combine her love for nature, plants, and art.

Ever since she can remember, Liz’s happiest childhood memories revolved around bonding with nature. As a child, she just had to stop and look closely at everything outdoors. Noticing details in nature would always lead her to fascinating discoveries! She would admire the raindrops sparkling like diamonds on flower petals after the rain, and get curious about a honey bee rolling around to collect pollen.

Botanical art is also a way for Liz to pay homage to her Chuvash roots and heritage.

Chuvash people are indigenous people of the Atăl River (Volga River), a Turkic ethnic group, and an ethnic minority. They are considered to be the descendants of semi-nomadic warrior tribes, the Huns. Living in the forests and meadows of their lands for millennia, in unity with nature, they were engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The Chuvash people have rituals and festivities that revolve around the cycles of planting, harvesting, and seasonal changes. These rituals and festivities serve to reaffirm their spiritual relationship with nature. Moreover, traditional medicine has always played an important role in Chuvash communities. Medicinal herbs and plants are used in healing practices to treat various diseases. Liz’s Chuvash grandfather had an extensive knowledge of plants and made his own herbal medicine.

Indigenous communities and ethnic minority groups all across the world have been impacted by technological advancement and urbanization. These days, Chuvash people are moving from villages to cities to find better education and jobs. Unfortunately, this comes with the loss of their cultural identity and their relationship with nature. Liz believes that her ancestors’ connection with nature was precious and profound, so it’s no surprise that plants became a subject matter of her paintings. Botanical art celebrates unity with the environment, promoting a sense of balance and connection. Plants may not seem that important to us in our everyday lives but all living organisms need plants in order to survive.