The Drama of Elisabethan Art
by Sally Hansen
Elisabeth Thomson sees the world differently. She observes with an eye for drama. When she looks at the outline of a tree against the sky, she sees bold shapes and angular outlines. Despite her name, her art reflects a much greater influence by the Surrealists than by the Renaissance Masters of the Elizabethan era. She paints stark, dynamic images using vibrant colours, frequently choosing blues and reds.
Thomson is creative, artistically fearless and utterly undeterred by well-meaning gallery owners who advise her to “pick a style and stick to it.” Instead, the best word to describe her artistic style is eclectic. Some of her canvases evoke images of landscapes by The Group of Seven; some are highly geometrical; others are semi-abstract. Like Salvador Dali, she is completely comfortable letting her subconscious guide her as she reconstructs images that appear in her dreams. Unlike Dali, she is gifted with a gentler, more recognizable world in which to dream.