Hi! I’m Elizabeth Shanahan, and I am an impressionist painter in the Asheville area of Western North Carolina. My work explores God’s infinite expression of love through His creation, especially landscape.

Abstract impressionist artist Elizabeth Shanahan is a disabled woman with dark hair and blue eyes. She sits before an easel littered with a palette, pain tubes, and brushes, and paintings are stacked against the walls behind her.

I work with a variety of materials and techniques, and you’re just as likely to find me working in oils, oil pastels, or acrylics. I enjoy experimenting with brushes and mixed media, sometimes including elements such as hand stitching, machine embroidery, or gold leaf. My work is often mistaken for watercolor because I love to work with watered down acrylics and raw pigment on wet paper, sometimes layering oil pastel over the top. Conversely, I adore oil pastel for their chunky texture, and would never limit myself to a single type of mark making. All that matters to me is that each material is carefully selected to suit the needs of the piece, and of course that everything is archival, heirloom-quality.

Some facts about me:

• I use a wheelchair to help with symptoms of a genetic disease, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. My chair gives me the freedom to do the work I love and get outside without pain!

•I enjoy tea of every kind, mystery novels, badly behaved pets, and spending time in nature with my family.

Inside the Process

I’ve always been a one-draft writer, and I treat my art the same way. My paintings typically evolve quickly: from roughly blocking major forms, to color selection, to final details, all is done on the final piece itself. This means that not every piece works out, but I feel that those pieces that never leave the studio are a vital part of the process for those that do.

A clear glass palette sits on a perspex chair over a white oak floor. The palette is full of paint in bright earth tones, ready to work.
WNC abstract impressionist artist Elizabeth Shanahan sits before an easel littered with painting supplies, smiling at the camera. She is light skinned, with dark hair and blue eyes. She wears a pale pink dress.
WNC abstract impressionist artist sits before an easel, painting with deep concentration. She wears a teal cardigan over a white shirt and black skirt. Paintings are stacked against the wall behind her.
WNC abstract impressionist artist's hand is seen holding a small brush, working on a small painting on paper on an upright easel. The easel is strewn with tubes of paint, brushes, the artist's palette, and water in a stained mug.