Elizabeth Watson

Born in Johannesburg
Matriculated National School of the Arts (1995)
Chose Cape Town as my home in 1997

Art has been a defining part of who I am from as early as I can remember.
I was lucky enough to have grown up in a home where my parents, especially my dad, were my greatest champions.

I chose to study further in other creative fields, however art was always a part of my daily practice.
At the end of April 2025, I stepped from a 9 year career, into being a full time artist and entrepreneur and although financially tough, it has been the greatest soul fulfilling experience.

I work in various mediums, painting in oil on canvas, illustration in gouache, drawing in pencil, charcoal, Conte. I love sculpting in clay and have begun bringing in torn paperwork into my pieces, a little practice from my very, very early childhood, probably before I had properly mastered my pencil or maybe it was just a little meditation, just tearing blank paper in straight lines!😂

The work itself looks at capturing the audience through depiction of the spirit, it asks you to look into the eyes and see beyond the strokes.
I am drawn to people, animals, nature and the spirit.
My work is semi realistic, with intentional imperfections like eyes that are slightly too large, or emphasizing eye irregularities etc. As we are perfectly imperfect, my work aims to capture the audience as they relate to those imperfections and slowly grow to love them.
My African Queen series was my first body of work after committing to this new path fully, they were painted as a Celebration of being able to have the time to look around again at our beautiful land, take in the nature, the beauty, the people away from my phone and computer screen. Soak up the incredible diversity and just express love.
They formed part of the Art and Design show I curated in August 2025 ( Colour, Pattern, Culture) at Glenhof Manor.
‘African Queen’ was first painted in 2021 but she was a far cry from who she eventually became in 2025