Betty Sommerville, Graphic Designer Turned Fine Artist

I met Elisabeth Sommerville almost 30 years ago when she was a graphic designer. She created my stationary and and my 1987 Faces & Figures exhibition poster and invitation. In 1995, she segued from graphic design to fine art in the realm of lithography.

Elisabeth Sommerville has the distinction of having one of her prints (above) chosen for the thirty-eighth presentation the International Print Center’s “New Prints Program” in New York City, USA. An honour to be sure, as this years works were selected from 1,500 submissions world-wide!

I attended Elisabeth’s recent exhibition, entitled West by Northwest at the Havana Gallery here in Vancouver. The exhibition included land and seascapes and still lifes. Her skies are amazing, and the way she renders stone in her land and seascapes is incredible.

I have a real appreciation for her abilities, as a lithograph print is created using limestone slabs. I carve several different types of limestone, so I’m familiar with its characteristics as it pertains to three dimensional sculpture. However, what Elisabeth must do to create just one of her lithographic images seems painstaking. Check out her website to see her collection of lithographs and find out more about how she achieves these stunning fine art images.