“Adventure Awaits” art viewers

“I do what I love, what can I say? And I’ve been told it shows,” said artist Elizabeth Zimmerman, whose work displayed at the Fireplace Gallery in Mt. Hood’s Student Union from Feb. 4 to 27.

Watercolors are the dominant medium used by Zimmerman, which she enjoys because they bring forth a challenge.

“The challenge is really nice because I can manipulate it, and I can also let it be more loose, just let the watercolor do its own little thing,” she said. “Sometimes it spreads out really fast, and other times if the paper’s drier, it will get speckled – so it can be abstract, yet I can get it really defined and get all of the little tiny details.”

Her art predominantly displays scenes and images of the American West. There are countless horses and cowboys. “When I was in community college, I was actually told by one of my first art teachers ‘Elizabeth, can you just stop with this horse thing,’ but needless to say, I did not listen to him,” she said.

Growing up, Zimmerman was surrounded by horses. By age 10, her family had moved to the country and, within a year, they surprised her with her first pony. “Even before that I was taking horse riding lessons at day camp. Once we finally had a place with some land, we had a pony, and then after he was gone, we got a horse,” she said.

In 2008-09, Zimmerman worked as a horse wrangler at Camp Baldwin, a Boy Scout summer camp east of Mount Hood. “There [are] about 75 horses. We took care of them; we gave them vaccinations as needed,” she said.

In 2010, she went to the large and very popular Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. “Down there they have 300 head of horses, and we learned how to shoe them and give them their shots, and all the veterinary services they would need, and round them up in the morning,” she said.

Zimmerman was “just really immersed in the cowboy lifestyle for three summers,” she said.

Her early artwork reflected her passion, although her mother described her as “a really terrible scribbler with coloring books,” she said. “I would never color in the lines.” Even then, she said. “I was always a horse-crazy girl, and I’d always try and draw horses.”

She later took classes to define her drawing.

Zimmerman frequently uses photos as a reference for her art. “I draw from photographs I take when I go and visit with people I know with horses. I’ve gone to a couple of cowboy roping events, and also used photos I’ve taken when I was working at summer camp.

“I’m very careful with my references, and then sometimes the photograph isn’t as clear, (so) I use my knowledge of the tacks, like the saddle and the blankets, and the bridles and the shafts,” she said. “I can fill in the details if the photo isn’t as exact as I need it to be.”

Watercolor paintings are not Zimmerman’s only medium. She also has done a couple of bronze sculptures. “I’ve done two bronzes; I did them about a year ago. The first one was a golden retriever we had when I was growing up, and then, the second one was a commission of a golden eagle.”

Zimmerman does commission work for anyone who is interested.

Landscape images are prominent in Zimmerman’s work. “Sometimes I go out in the summer and do some Plein air painting, so I paint on site. My husband likes to go fly-fishing, so while he’s fishing, I go to paint the river.”

Her deepest love is for horses, and western art, however. “I like to do landscapes. They’re scenic and there’s some details here and there, but the overall look – they’re more…  I would say ‘passive,’ and, like the horses, the Western art is really more dynamic.”

Zimmerman is a member of a few different societies: The Watercolor Society of Oregon, Northwest Water Society, and International Equine Artists. She has found that being a member of these societies is very helpful. “You can hear critiques, you can learn how to talk about your art, and then have someone else look at it” to suggest improvements, she said.

“It’s really nice to be able to have a group of people with similar knowledge of the materials.”

Zimmerman currently works full-time in a graphic design office, and works on her art in the evening hours.

“I guess you could call me an emerging artist,” she said. “I really love doing art, it’s my passion, and someday it will be my career.”

Elizabeth Zimmerman is online at http://www.elizabethzimmerman.com.