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Elspeth studied at Portsmouth College of Art and Design and has also attended various courses at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Unit. She received a first class honours degree in Humanities with Art History in 2007 awarded by the Open University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Humanities (Art History) in 2010. In 2001, she was a contestant on Channel 4’s ‘Watercolour Challenge’. She was awarded the Harry Vaughan prize by Dundee Art Society in 2005 and won a bursary from the Society for All Artists for “inspiring and encouraging people to paint” in 2006. Elspeth runs her own mixed media art workshops, for all ages and abilities, and is also a lead artist with the Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust ST/ART project – devising and implementing creative rehabilitation programmes for stroke patients in hospital and a community project for people with chronic lung disease. She also demonstrates her mixed media techniques, and runs workshops, for various art societies and art groups in Scotland. In 2008, Elspeth was a founder member of Perthshire Open Studios – an initiative set up to enable artists and makers in Perthshire to promote their practices to a wider audience. Elspeth combines a bold and lively approach in her artwork, utilizing a wide range of media in order to capture the essence of her subject matter. Her inspiration comes from a variety of sources, but she is particularly interested in colour and texture.
I believe that art has a very important role to play in today’s ever changing and fast-paced society. Involvement with the visual arts – whether as a viewer or practitioner – can provide a welcome respite from the everyday and has the capacity to enhance wellbeing. In my opinion, any artwork that has been created with integrity and passion is valid and worthwhile. Embarking on a creative journey is a powerful and fulfilling process – beginning with the initial inspiration, progressing through the imagination and resulting in the production of a piece of visual art. Opportunities for making art should be available to everyone. We all have the capacity to enrich our lives through creativity, but this gift is often not nurtured or encouraged.
I identify with Matisse’s description of the act of painting – he felt “transported into a kind of paradise... I felt gloriously free, quiet and alone.”
As well as participating in various group exhibitions, Elspeth has held the following exhibitions of her work: