About me

Welcome,

my name is Elisabeth Svendby and I am a painter living and working in Oslo, Norway.

My current passion is exploring the figure, and how I can portray states of mind and emotions in every day settings honestly. I embrace the imperfections and vulnerability in each of us through sinuous line and intuitive colors.

The mediums I use have been surprisingly important to my process. I do extensive sketching with wax pastels to find what I am looking for in the figures. Then I move to the canvas using thick oil paint to recreate that dragging feeling of wax pastel on paper. The tactile nature of this is important to me, and I experimented a lot before getting here. 

I mostly stretch and prepare my own canvases. I select my favorite cotton or linen, perfect for each occasion, and prepare the surface according to how I want to paint. I usually paint on the thickest and roughest cotton canvas I can find, as it is very soft and stretchy, yet extremely strong. Well-suited for both small and very large works.

I have been creating all my life, but in 2017, I left my design job to focus on painting full-time. I had been working as a chief designer in various media houses, starting in Dagbladet and ending in Amedia. However, the desire to go back to the tactile, creative world, where sensitivity is a strength, became so powerful, that there was no way back in the end. Now I am a full time artist, working out of my studio in Oslo, Norway.

If you'd like to visit me and look at paintings, please email me at support@elisabethsvendby.com to arrange a time.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

December 6-8th Solo exhibition at Dugg, Oslo

EXHIBITIONS

Dugg - Solo exhibition 6-8 December 2024

Oslo Open 2024 - Open studio, Økern

Galleri S9, Oslo - Solo exhibition, 28 Aug - 10 Sep, 2021

Oslo Maleklubb - Fall exhibition, October 2019

Kroloftets Jubileum Exhibition, June 2019

Oslo Open 2019 - Open studio, Kroloftet

Oslo Open 2018 - Open studio, Kroloftet