Elizabeth Pratt


About the Artist	American Art Collector 2007	Cape Arts Review	Courtesy of American Art Collector 2008	Courtesy of American Art Collector May 2010


Courtesy of American Art Collector May 2011


I first saw Elizabeth Pratt's work featured in a newspaper and her brilliant colors just hooked me. I saved the article and 15 years later I got an opportunity to meet and own a few of her works. What a blast! I love the 'textures' in her watercolors and the feeling of contentment I get looking at them. — Kinga Salierno

The Process For over 60 years, I have been experimenting with watercolor techniques. I’ve gotten various textures by applying paint to hot press paper through crushed tissue paper and then removing the tissue. I’ve also had success by applying paint to the paper and then pressing crushed tissue, wax paper or clear plastic wrap into the wet paint. (The top papers are removed and discarded.) I’ve rolled a brayer over wet paint and put paint on a brayer to roll it onto the paper. I’ve brushed color and India ink onto paper, partially dried it with a hair dryer and then sprayed it with water to wash off the damp paint while leaving tints in patterns. I’ve displaced wet paint by sprinkling it with water or grains of salt. I’ve taken a wet painting-in-progress, flattened it against a piece of plexiglass, and gone back to work on what was left on the paper. I’ve applied globs of color and tilted the paper until it ran. I’ve splattered a second color onto a first. I’ve glazed a thin layer over paint over dry color. I’ve had fun. — Elizabeth Pratt

“I’ve been selling my work for 65 years. More than ever, color is important in my paintings. I use it to set up vibrations and to create moods. To enhance the effects of the renowned Cape Cod light, my colors have become stronger and my contrasts greater. Fluid and transparent, watercolor allows me to spontaneously capture the motion of the waves and currents that surround this peninsula. The expanses of sky, the reflections of the sky in the water, the natural flow of the wind, all lend themselves to the free expression afforded by this medium. As long as I have been painting, I feel the rush of excitement each time the first colors go down and know I am going to going to discover something new.”

Evening Glow watercolor 15 x 20 framed 21 x 27 $950

October's Palette watercolor 16 x 22.5 framed 23 x 29.5 $1,100

Ocean Surge watercolor 14 x 23 framed 20 x 29 $1,200

Provincelands watercolor 15 x 19 framed 22 x 26.5 $850

The Salt Pond watercolor 14 x 22 framed 21 x 29.5 $1,100

Dunescape Watercolor Image Size 15.5 x 22 Framed 23 x 29.5 $1,000
		“The intricate branches crossing the dunes like a delicate layer of lace while the lavender and blue sky showing vibrant against the warmth of the dune created a magnificent composition of form and color.”

Jamboree Watercolor Image Size 28 x 22 Framed 36 x 29.75 $1,900
		“Bright fish swimming among the plants, weaving currents, layer upon layer celebrating in sunlit waters.”

Stately Blooms Watercolor Image Size 11 x 9.5 Framed 17 x 15.5 $650

Family Values Watercolor Image Size 22.5 x 15 Framed 26.5 x 21 $1,200

Sweeping the Crest Watercolor Image Size 10.5 x 21.5 Framed 16.5 x 27.5 $950

Out to the Island Watercolor Image Size 13 x 22 Framed 19 x 28 $1,300

One Last Sail Watercolor Image Size 14.5 x 22.5 Framed 21 x 27 $1,100

Taking the Sun II Watercolor Image Size 18 x 22 Framed 25 x 29 $1,500

Pamet Harbor Watercolor Image Size 19 x 25 Framed 26 x 33 $1,600

The Sea's Rhythm Watercolor Image Size 10 x 13 Framed 16 x 19 $550

Abstraction Watercolor Image Size 19 x 25.5 Framed 25 x 31 $1,600

Beyond Pleasant Bay Watercolor Image Size 14 x 23 Framed 20 x 29 $1,000

Sparkling Waters Watercolor Image Size 12 x 20 Framed 18 x 26 $950

Woodland Mists Watercolor Image Size 12.5 x 23 Framed 18 x 29 $1,000

Windy Day Watercolor Image Size 22 x 15 Framed 29 x 22 $1,000

Rough Seas Watercolor Image Size 15 x 20 Framed 21 x 26 $1,000


Elizabeth Pratt studied at the Dayton Art Institute and earned her B.A. in Fine Arts at William and Mary. She completed workshops with nationally-known watercolorists and studied the masters of painting in Europe's great museums. Elizabeth had the first of over 50 solo shows at the Spectrum Gallery in Washington, D.C., where she was a founding member. Ms. Pratt's work has been acquired by many government agencies, courts, corporations and collectors. Ms. Pratt is a Copley Master and has juried membership in Audubon Artists, New York City and the New England Watercolor Society. She has taught at the Truro Center for the Arts, Castle Hill; the Creative Arts Center; the Cape Museum of Fine Arts; and the Cahoon Museum. A full-time artist with a spontaneous style evolving as the images develop, Ms. Pratt keeps her work continually fresh and alive in a range of subject matter treated with new techniques. Her work has been featured in many periodicals including American Art Collector, Artist Magazine, Cape Cod Times, Cape Codder, Arts & Antiques, Boston Magazine, Review Magazine and Cape Arts Review. She will also be featured in the August 2008 issue of American Art Collector . Her work and techniques have been covered in books including The Art of Watercolor by Charles LeClair, The Best of Watercolor by Betty Lou Schlem and Tom Nicola, and nine others. Artist's Statement Since my early training, watercolor has challenged and excited me. For over 50 years, I have worked primarily in that medium. My aim has never been to become more proficient in realism but rather to explore the limits of watercolor's possibilities. I strive to let the paints' characteristics rule, the drips, bleeds and blooms be apparent for visual enjoyment. The invention of hot press papers in the 1960s expanded the medium's ability to achieve amazing textures. The paint stays on the surface and can be manipulated with various tools as well as with brushes. Color vibrancy, abstract shapes, tactile representations and lighting extremes are enhanced without a preset plan. I let the medium lead me. The works evolve on the paper through "accidents"-and my imagination. Paintings of fish and birds are ideal for this as the subjects can be woven in during the final steps towards completion of a piece. Landscapes begin as abstracts and the nature I know emerges. If painterly effects appear in jeopardy, I stop and leave the essence. These methods have been transmitted in all my teaching. I stress how to see differently, how to cherish what is developing on the page, how to push it to the utmost. Even now, having completed over 2,000 watercolors, I feel the rush of excitement when the first colors go down, flowing freely, uncontrolled, meandering in a way more beautiful than I could have imagined. I quickly tilt, drop in more colors, imprint, spray, spatter, continually looking for the direction the painting is taking. It's a game. Of nerve. Of spontaneous decisions. The paint always wins and I am glad to be on its team.
Books The Art of Watercolor, by Charles LeClair, Watson Guptil, 1994, revised 1999 The Best of Watercolor, Betty Lou Schlem and Tom Nicolas, Volumes I, II, and III Rockport Publishers (for all of the following) Watercolor Expressions Painting Composition Floral Inspirations Places in Watercolor People in Watercolor National Juried Exhibitions Audobon Artists of New York City, 1994 to 2003 Adirondack's National Exhibition, 1994, 1995, 1996 San Diego Watercolor Society National Open Face of America - Contemporary Portraits in Watercolor Academic Artists, 1993, 1994 Georgia Watercolor Society National Mississippi National Exhibition Rocky Mountain National, 1996 Montana National North American Open Exhibition The Face of America, National Portrait Exhibition 1994 Solo Shows The Copley Society The Art Complex Museum The Maryland Academy of Art Spectrum Gallery — Georgetown Radford University Stonehill college Cape Cod Conservatory AddisonArtGallery Cape Cod Museum of Art		Group Shows The New Bedford Museum Guild of Boston Artists The Fitchburg Museum The Berkshire Museum Johns Hopkins University Mississippi Museum The USIA Traveling Exhibit Overseas Copley Society Shows Falmouth Annual nd Annual Northeast New England Watercolor Society AddisonArtGallery Cahoon Museum The Greater Washington Invitational The Arts Club, Washington D.C. The Federal Reserve Bank, Boston Boston City Hall The Harvard Club, Boston Articles The Cape Codder Arts and Antiques Boston Magazine, 1986 The Review Magazine, 1988 Artist Magazine, 1988 The Cape Cod Times Palette Talk, American Artist Magazine, 1993 American Art Collector, 2007 Cape Arts Review, 2008 American Art Collector, 2008 Permanent Collections The Cape Museum of Fine Arts The International Monetary Fund The United States Catholic Conference The Office of the Director of the CIA Sperry Univac Citi Bank Superior Court of the District of Columbia The National Association of Manufacturers First National Bank of Boston The Cahoon Museum Stonehill College National Society of Professional Engineers

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