About me

My name is Elisabeth Svendby and I am a painter living and working in Oslo, Norway.

I love variation, and I absolutely need it to keep my creative juices flowing. Working on portraits one week, and going off to paint a large landscape painting the next day is my dream life. 

Illustration is a third avenue I work in, and I am passionate about using pen and watercolors, that you can find examples of on my Illustration page. 

The great thing about varying my work like this is that my inspiration has it's seasons. It has been an important part of my development as an artist, to accept this as a skill. And enjoy it. Instead of drudging through uninspired painting days, making bad decisions, I turn around and sit down to make some exciting portraits instead. This loosens up my brain and after a bit, I will be ready to go back and tackle the painting with new energy. If I follow my excitement, the work just flows.

I have been creating all my life, but in 2017 I started the transition from working as a designer, into painting full-time. I had been working as a Chief Designer in various media houses, starting in Dagbladet in 2006 and ending in Amedia. However, the desire to go back to the tactile, creative world, where sensitivity is a strength, became so powerful, that there was no way back in the end. 

Landscapes and all that has to do with nature took a new role in my art in 2020, when I lost my mom. I felt she had become a part of all the nature that surrounded me, and it gave me great comfort. Now, being in nature gives me this great sense of belonging. I get energy, and feel both calm and excited at the same time. This is why I love painting landscapes of all kinds, and have a deep wish to bring it into more offices and homes.

I did have a hard time painting the year I lost my dad though, early in 2024, but after a while the oil portraits took a front seat. He loved people, and gave me the perfect combination of safe and fun days growing up. As I am writing this, I still have not done his portrait, but hope to soon. It is such a personal thing, like looking into someones soul and picking out what makes them special. So I am looking forward to being in a place where I can do that for him too. 

If you would like to commission work, visit me to look at available art, or have any questions at all, please e-mail me at support@elisabethsvendby.com

EXHIBITIONS and EVENTS

Solo exhibition 6-8 December 2024 at Dugg, Oslo

Open studio 2024 for Oslo Open

Solo exhibition, 28 Aug - 10 Sep, 2021 at Galleri S9, Oslo

Fall exhibition, October 2019 with Oslo Maleklubb

Kroloftets Jubilee Exhibition, June 2019, Oslo

Open studio 2019, Kroloftet for Oslo Open

Open studio 2018, Kroloftet for Oslo Open