Elisabeth Sommerville graduated from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary winning the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize. She moved to Vancouver in 1965 to start her own award-winning graphic design business, Sommergraphics. In 1985 she was hired as design consultant by British Airways in London, working with U.S.-based Landor Associates in developing a new corporate design.
Returning to Vancouver, she enrolled at the University of British Columbia for a Studio Art Degree while continuing to freelance. Courses in etching, serigraphy and plate lithography led her to a new stage in her career when she joined Malaspina Printmakers Society on Granville Island to learn the art of stone lithography. Over the next 20 years, she became well known for her detailed, precise and beautiful limited edition prints of wildlife. Her skill and artistry continued with egg tempera paintings and then with coloured pencils, a medium particularly suited to her meticulous drawings.
Elisabeth attained SFCA Signature Status with the Federation of Canadian Artists and is an Elected Member of the Society of Canadian Artists. She was recently promoted from Associate Member to AFC Signature Membership with the world-wide Artists for Conservation. Her work is in collections in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and the U.S.A.
