Meet Liz Darling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Darling.

Hi Liz, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a visual artist from Pittsburg, KS.

Like many creatives, I’ve been making art since childhood and just never stopped. I studied painting in college, earning a BFA in 2010. At the time, I needed a stable income as a single parent, so I became certified to teach K-12 art. I have been teaching art ever since.

Additionally, I’ve worked to nurture a personal art-making practice and have exhibited my work in various gallery shows, markets, festivals, and publications.

I’m committed to living a creative life and am always looking for new opportunities. One of the more recent ones has been joining a band, Amanita, where I sing and play the keyboard.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part, it has been pretty smooth.

It has been a process to learn the business/exhibition side of art and navigate different art communities that have different objectives. I think some people don’t know how much behind-the-scenes work goes into exhibiting and selling artwork – documentation, promotion, packing work to ship, preparing materials, etc.

I feel fortunate to have a “day job” that provides a reasonable level of work-life balance – this allows me to focus a great deal of attention on my creative life and not feel pressure to monetize every element of what I do.

Even so, my desire to do too much, in general, is an ongoing struggle – I have a massive mental catalog of unrealized projects that I want to undertake, and I want to learn and master everything, yet there are only so many hours in a day.

That seems like a good problem to have in the grand scheme of things, though – there’s plenty of water flowing from the creative well.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make artwork that honors my connection to the natural world. Artmaking is a sort of spiritual practice for me – as much about the process as it is the product.

I create in a variety of media – watercolor, ink, oil, embroidery – but watercolor is my favorite. I love the precise detail I can achieve through the medium, and also the aspect of unpredictability. I’m a control-oriented person, and watercolor both nurtures that and forces me to compromise at times, working with what the medium dictates.

Content-wise, I’m inspired by what I consider sacred… nature, transformative experiences, beauty, mystery, and interconnectedness. Through the years, I find certain imagery returns to me over and over again – mushrooms, moons, moths… subject matter that explores both growth and decay. I’m intrigued by religious iconography and sacred geometry.

Vulva imagery is a recurring theme in my work – a symbol of birth and a creative life force. My own experience of becoming a young, single mother after growing up within a patriarchal religious belief system was profound and made me look at certain power structures differently. I believe artmaking can be an act of resistance against the systems that seek to disempower and exploit us.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of Plein air painting and work inspired by the prairie, where I like to spend time hiking and observing. To me, the prairie is a reprieve from our technology-obsessed society that often feels artificial and dystopian. There, everything is honest and alive.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
There is so much to love about Kansas City!

Before Covid, Kansas City Art Institute had these incredible weekend workshops for art educators where we could come for the weekend and focus pretty intensely on a new medium or process. Unfortunately, they closed their continuing education department – I really hope it will be reinstated someday.

Otherwise, I love the Nelson-Atkins, Westport, and getting Boba teas and beignets at the City Market. My least favorite thing about Kansas City is simply the fact that it IS a city… I have a penchant for isolation and an aversion to traffic.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.lizdarlingart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizdarlingart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizdarlingart
• Other: https://amanitasoundtribe.bandcamp.com/