Mill Valley-based painter
Elizabeth Geisler, an award-winning Bay Area painter with a background in printmaking, photography, music, and film, is set to show her work on the walls of the
Mill Valley Chamber’s space at 85 Throckmorton Ave., including a reception on
Tuesday, June 6, as part of the
Mill Valley Arts Commission’s First Tuesday Artwalk (5:30-7:30pm). Aside from the First Tuesday Artwalk, the Chamber’s office is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 12-4pm.
Best known for her water reflection paintings, Geisler creates images that reside somewhere between photorealism and abstraction. Up close, the color use and brushwork read as abstraction, but from a distance, they blend into a more representational depiction. She often uses intense colored underpaintings that show through in varying degrees in the finished piece, which provides an added depth to her paintings.
Geisler is intrigued by the intricate patterns on the water surface and how they can convey both movement and stillness. In some cases, it seems as if these reflections create an alternate reality to what we see on land or in the sky. However, beneath the surface, there is a psychological element to why she is drawn to paint water. For Geisler, water represents life, as we cannot survive without it, and it literally flows through all of us. It is a constant that connects us to each other. When she is painting water, it is a meditative and sometimes, cathartic process. She focuses on highlighting the beauty of the abstract composition nature provides, while conjuring the almost musical rhythm of the water and its restorative properties.
“I find that focusing on the details helps me see the big picture more clearly,” she says. “It is my way of slowing down enough to be ‘in the moment.’ I work from my own source photos, and it’s like a treasure hunt as I discover amazing compositions and abstractions that nature so miraculously creates. I particularly look for patterns evoking rhythms that promote a sense of calm.”
Geisler’s work has shown in group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and can be found in collections worldwide. She began painting at a young age, and while still in high school, was awarded a life drawing scholarship to the Otis College of Art and Design. In college she studied both visual arts and mass communications, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. She continued her art studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, Barnsdall Art College, and the City College of San Francisco. Born in Los Angeles, Geisler now resides in the Mill Valley and works out of her studio in Sausalito, CA.
