Elisabeth Geel

About the Process

I consider myself a Surrealist. Through my art I connect with my unconscious mind and express whatever irrational and fantastic image presents itself. When I make a sketch I follow a lead from some other universe, the way the Surrealists practiced automatic writing because I don't want reality, or my common perception, to be in the way of my creativity. Later on in the creative process, the image may amalgamate with how my conscious mind perceives reality. I compare it to digging in the ground and hitting an undefined object. While digging deeper it crystallizes and I go, "Ah! So that's what it's not..." I aim for the form to be a mere symbol or reflection of something familiar. When I see that somewhere along the line the story becomes predictable, I quickly change course and steer it back into the world of the absurd, so that the creatures and objects remain mere symbols. I work in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media.