Artist Spotlight - Elizabeth Gleeson
Elizabeth Gleeson, Artist
Artist Name: Elizabeth Gleeson
Artist IG: elizabeth.gleeson.artist
Artist FB: elizabeth.gleeson.artist
Artist Website: www.elizabethgleeson.com
Artist LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-gleeson
Artist location/country: Melbourne, Australia.
When did you first know you were a creative person?
“Initially, I didn’t know that not all people were creative all the time. I grew up in a bit of a microcosm on a small Island with my Mum and 3 little sisters. Creativity was embedded into everything we ever did. It wasn’t until I went to school and learned that other people didn’t draw or sew or create constantly that I realised that other people weren’t creative.
Although I do think that’s a bit of a myth, I don’t want to perpetuate - that ‘creativity’ only looks like drawing, painting, or being crafty. There are so many ways in which you can be creative, and I feel sad that so many people have it embedded into the understanding of their own identity that they’re not a creative person.”
Photo credit: Mark Fergus
How did your creative journey start?
“I have a background in fashion design, pattern-making and costume, as sewing and anything to do with garment design and creation was always my strongest creative passion. A particularly difficult period of my life prompted me to lay it all down completely, and coincided with an obsessive compulsion to draw all kinds of mandalas.
I was drawing these mandalas with art deco and nouveau elements, or woodland creatures, or quirky, crooked cottages. I had been posting them online, and from that, I was invited to have a small solo exhibition of inked works on paper.
Then, a friend who owned a wellbeing clinic invited me to paint a large mandala on her yoga studio wall that incorporated her logo, and that was the beginning of my mural career.
I was taking opportunities where I could, getting my work out there and continuing to develop my intricate, patterned line artwork murals. I hadn’t seen anyone doing anything similar, and my work always garnered a lot of interest and love, so I knew there was a market for my work.
A new client insisted I include colour in a mural for his restaurant, despite my repeated objections that I just do line work. It wasn’t one of those ‘red flag’ requests, as I refer to them, where a client is asking for something that you simply don’t offer - he actually truly believed in me. I’m so glad I relented and gave it a go, because now the vibrant colours in my work are an integral part of its character.”
Mural by Elizabeth in 2022
“From there I’ve continued to refine and explore and look for and create more and more opportunities.
I feel like I’m only just getting started.”
Did you receive a formal art education, or are you self-taught?
“I studied Visual Arts as my major in my Degree, but I often butted heads with my lecturer who represented a very arrogant, aloof version of the fine art world to me, and for many years I wanted no part of it. I’ve only just realised that recently - how naive that was of me, but also how one person can have such a big impact on you; it’s funny how retrospection works like that.
I then went on to study fashion through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which was an incredible deep dive into all aspects of garment design, creation, and the industry in general.
Like most of us though, anything I’ve wanted to learn, like painting, I’ve taught myself along the way.”
Entitled ‘Promise’ - 2022
What is the most significant challenge you've faced as an artist to date?
“It’s always yourself. You are your own biggest obstacle and challenge, and learning to recognise the ways in which you limit yourself and making adjustments accordingly, is imperative to growth.”
Mural - 2025
One worry/wobble you still have about being an artist?
“It’s less about being an artist and all the cliches that go with that, it’s more about keeping some kind of life balance when you’re a freelancer. I’m not particularly good at it yet, which can cause genuine burnout. It’s difficult not to take on more projects when they get offered, especially when you have a family to support, and I tend to have this limitless optimism that causes me to think that I can get it all done, all of the time.”
Do you feel you have a distinct style to your art?
“I do have a very distinct style, and it used to make me nervous that it would work against me as it’s so niche, but as my confidence has grown as a person and professional artist, I’ve realised that it’s a complete strength. My style is me and my pure expression and voice to the world.”
How has your style evolved?
“Although my works have always been patterned and intricate, they were simpler, monochromatic line works in the beginning. It took me about 4 years to use any colour in my works, because I didn’t have the skills at the time. I’d never actually painted. Using colour in my works initially pushed me right out of my comfort zone, which caused my style and artwork in general to level up, and I haven’t looked back.
Whilst I still base my patterns on the repeated, reflected segments of the mandala, the artistic elements used within them have changed enormously, giving it an entirely different feel which I refer to as ‘folk-nouveau’.”
Elizabeth Gleeson - Featured in British Vogue - Hokkaido Mural
Who/What are your biggest artistic influences?
“Visually, the patterned work of William Morris, traditional European folk art across many different countries, and the art nouveau work of Alphonse Mucha. There’s also a strong thread of influence from traditional Japanese woodblock prints that runs through my work. My biggest mural inspiration is NeSpoon, a Polish artist creating giant murals based entirely on traditional lace. It was her work that made me realise there was a place in the world for mine. The incredible work of Australian artist and muralist Manda Lane, US mural superstar Lauren YS, and the patterned work of US Illustrator Nina Pace. In terms of an approach to life and art, Georgia O’Keeffe is my hero. I’m also a huge fan of the fabrics and wallpaper from Liberty London and would love to work with them one day.
I’m fortunate to live in a forest and take a huge amount of inspiration from my natural surroundings, which is reflected in the predominantly botanical nature of my work.”
William Morris *Image from Pinterest
Alphonse Mucha *Image from Pinterest
Artist NeSpoon *Image from Pinterest
Can you describe your typical creative process from concept to completion?
“I’m pretty old school. I’ve tried using the iPad for the start of my work, but the creative flow doesn’t kick in like it does with paper and pencil, so I’ve stopped fighting it.
I will have a concept, colour palette, or overall feel in mind for a work and will start by developing the individual elements in my sketchbook. I then rule up a segment in my sketchbook and start composing the elements, starting with the larger pieces first. I’ll then create a flow and balance in the work using a combination of nouveau-style vines and the smaller elements, and test if the composition is working with a mirror book.
Once I’m pretty confident that the quarter will work as a whole, I photocopy the work multiple times, cut it out and join them together. From there, I make edits to the original sketch if needed, as well as to where the segments join. I usually do my colour testing at this point with acrylic paints, but will use the iPad to colourise the image if I’m creating a mock-up for a client. I take a photo of the composed work, fix the telemetry in Illustrator so that there’s no skewing, and then project the design onto a canvas or wall and mark it up.
An initial artwork design will take me 1-3 days. A fine art canvas will typically take around 150 hours to paint, and a mural will take about 2 weeks.”
Mural by Elizabeth Gleeson, Photo credit to Mark Fergus
What is your favourite part of the creative process?
“It’s the moment I’ve fully completed the initial artwork sketch on paper, joined the segments together, and know that I've achieved a beautifully balanced composition. My next favourite part is painting. The initial artwork is the dedicated, disciplined part of the process, and the painting is the reward, the moving meditation, the full realisation of the artwork.”
“Hokkaido” Mural by Elizabeth Gleeson
One piece of advice that's helped you in your career that you can pass on.
“Action is key, do it even though you’re terrified. Don’t wait until you think you and your artwork are ready to present to the world. Perfectionism will kill your confidence and isn’t real or possible anyway. For every brilliant artist too scared to put their work out there, there will be an artist who is half as good but isn’t scared to put themselves out there that will be the one who ‘makes it’ and will become brilliant on the way.
You’re in much more control of creating your world than you realise. It’s up to you, no one else.
The most common thing I see from beginner artists seeking from their mentors, is reassurance for their fears and anxiety - I promise that action is the antidote.”
One mural design you want to manifest to paint in 2025.
“I would like to paint the front of a multi-storey building in Amsterdam, like the one I did in Japan in 2024. I’ve not yet taken steps to make that happen, beyond joining a bunch of Amsterdam Facebook groups, but I’m pretty keen to explore the option and make it happen.”
Thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to answer my Q’s for the blog.
See you soon
Kate & Norman x