Artist Elizabeth Kirby, whose work is currently on display at the Burlington County Library, speaks about what inspires her art.
Stephen Finn
The Sun
Illustrator, painter and mixed media artist Elizabeth Kirby has a long history with the Burlington County Library, and an even longer history with her art. For years her pieces have adorned the walls of the library, where she was featured at a Meet the Artist reception on Feb. 16.
Art was a constant for Kirby growing up. She attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School where, according to Kirby, there was an excellent art program that allowed to her explore and foster her love of art.
“A lot of the art teachers were really supportive,” said Kirby. “They were all professional artists, in fact, two of them I’m still in contact with to this day and they still critique my work.”
According to Kirby, early support from her school and family made a huge difference in her life.
Late in her high school career, as she began applying to colleges, she remembers her guidance counselor pulling a file that covered her entire educational career. She was surprised to find out that pictures of her artwork from elementary school had been saved in the file.
“Somebody thought it was important enough to keep track of and follow and say ‘look, this is what this kid does.’ It’s encouraging. I was impressed by that,” said Kirby.
Although she makes a little money selling her work, Kirby’s main income stems from her full-time job as a social worker for the state Department of Corrections.
“I paint because I love it. If I make a living off of it that’s wonderful but I’m going to do it anyway,” said Kirby.
She takes few commision jobs, preferring instead to paint when the muse strikes. She draws much of her inspiration from her life and memories.
A lot of her work features bright, vibrant colors that draw you into a scene or portrait. She counts Pablo Picasso as one of her main influences, along with African American artists like Ernie Barnes.
“I paint what I love and I really hope it brings pleasure to people,” said Kirby.
Her subjects range from famous musicians like Nina Simone and John Coltrane to simpler, slice of life-style pieces that draw inspiration from her everyday life and her memories growing up.
A painting entitled “Records” features two young women dancing to music from a vinyl record player in front of an open bedroom window. According to Kirby the piece was inspired by memories of her sister and their shared love of music.
“Me and my sister used to always play records, we loved records. The whole idea of vinyl and looking at the album cover; it wasn’t just about playing the music,” said Kirby. “Most of the time we didn’t even know what the artist looked like back in those days until you got that album cover.”
“Paper Boats” is another piece by Kirby derived from memories of her life. The painting features children racing little boats along a rain gutter. She remembers the fun she had as a child racing paper boats whenever it would rain.
“It was something fun to do and it took a little bit of ingenuity to put that paper boat together,” recalled Kirby.
According to Kirby, inspiration can strike anywhere at any time. Her piece, “Twitter Gurl,” was inspired simply by a Twitter user’s profile picture that she had happened across. She often includes mixed media elements in her work and this portrait prominently features a modern looking phone complete with a colorful case that Kirby adorned with clippings from magazines.
“I just loved the attitude of this woman when I saw her,” said Kirby. “I was like ‘wow, how did she get that attitude to come through in that photograph? I think I’m going to paint this.’”
To see examples of Kirby’s work, search “Art 4 u 2 Love” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
