Eliza Mowery has been a full-time artist in Indianapolis since January of 2022. Her studio is currently located at the Harrison Center and also out of her home. She primarily uses acrylic paint as her medium of choice, but enjoys playing with pastels and gauche as well.

Eliza’s inspiration comes from many places, but usually is found in the natural world.

“I’m deeply drawn to the communal nature of beauty. It’s almost impossible to look at the sky during a bright sunset and not feel connected to my neighbors and my local community. We’re all witnessing something, and for a moment, we all have that in common. I paint to bring us back to those moments. We need them.”

Eliza paints in order to make a living but also as an act of personal and community liberation. Through her work she aims to remind herself and her collectors that beauty, rest, and pleasure are all revolutionary acts of healing. As Tricia Hersey wrote in her book “Rest as Resistance,”

“How can we access pleasure, joy, and liberation if we’re too tired to experience it?”

Beauty has a way of gently jolting us out of our rational/problem solving brain and back into our bodies. She hopes that the color and content of her work is disruptive in a gentle way and gives her clients permission to breathe.

Eliza is proudly queer and neurodivergent and lets these parts of her identity bleed into the inclusivity and stories around her work.

In 2021, Eliza received the Indiana Arts Commission “On-Ramp” Grant, which was pivotal in jumpstarting her career. Since then, her client base has grown significantly. She currently has original work hanging in the Women and Infants wing at the Ascension St. Vincent Women’s hospital in downtown Indianapolis as well as at Firefly Children and Family Alliance Center. Commissioned work is not her only source of income though. Her fine art prints have been sold all over the United States including, New Jersey, Tennessee, Chicago, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She loves connecting with her local community by vending at year-round artisan markets.

You can usually find her outside or cozied up with her partner and 2 Australian shepherds, taking in whatever the current moment is bringing.