Elizabeth Lefebvre

medium: mixed media

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Not of Facts, Perhaps, But of Feelings 2006 Mixed media	I Go, Uncertain of My Fate 2006 Textiles	It is Enough to Know They are Discovered 2004 Painting
Contemplating the Dismal Rain in a Very Desponding State of Mind 2004 Graphic art	Every Savage Can Dance 2004 Graphic art	I Do Not Quite Despair Yet 2003 Graphic art
This is Not to be Bourne 2003 Mixed media	I Am Sure They Were Talking of Me 2003 Graphic art	Of All the Consequence in their Power 2002 Mixed media

Contact information
Artist resides in: Madison, WI
Email Address: elizabeth@elizabethlefebvre.com
Web site: www.elizabethlefebvre.com

Artist statement
People want something outside their lives, something different to take them away from the mundane. Artists have long been the mediums for this escape. They are the ones who visualize and verbalize the dreams and nightmares that people desire. Artists act as a conduit to take us to different worlds and times. Whether it is the nightmarish landscapes of Bosch or the Dickensian back alleys of Victorian England, we are taken out of our lives, even if just for a moment. I prefer to live in the realm of Regency England, in the drawing rooms of the gentry with the likes of Charles Bingley and Emma Woodhouse.

My artwork's impetus is the novels of Jane Austen. I re-interpret the characters' representations by the illustrators Brock from the first-color editions. While their drawings captured the physical scenes, I feel that Jane Austen cannot be represented so linearly. I re-imagine their drawings infusing book illustrations typical of the turn of the last century with added layers of meaning and emotion that the novels have given me. I lovingly create each piece with various media from watercolor to ink to embroidery.

I make these pieces because Jane Austen has sparked my sensibilities to create. She has held me spellbound with her ability to carry me away by strong and overwhelming emotion. I create images like her writing, that, while set in a specific time, also have a timelessness to them.

Biography
Born in Madison, Elizabeth Lefebvre was raised in a family of publishers and artists. Despite an early dislike of school, because she was downgraded in art due to natural ability, she went on to receive a B.S. in art and a second in theater from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004. Since graduating, she is the creative director of Stanton & Lee Publishers, but she primarily spends her time as a freelance graphic artist. She is also working on creating new pieces for her Jane Austen giclee series, which she sells through Stanton & Lee. When she is not hard at work she spends her time reading and watching mini-series with her cat Spot. He really likes anything from the BBC, especially with horses, and if you can get a chaise and four in there, all the better.