ABOUT THE ARTIST

EAC (Elizabeth Ann Conway) is an artist devoted to self discovery and exploring the many types of relationships between people and the natural world. Born in the Ohio and raised in Southern New Hampshire, Liz spent her childhood building forts and making arts and crafts. Her love for fine arts began in high school while working at her mother’s arts and crafts store. She earned annual awards in religion and art reflecting her passions for spiritual and creative exploration.  As a young adult Liz’s appetite for learning led her to work in Haiti, study in Ireland and France, and travel throughout Europe. Studying a wide range of arts and sciences, she earned a BA, a BS, and a Master’s degree. Liz excelled in languages, a testimony to her drive for self expression and the desire to connect with others. Careers in psychiatric nursing and adult education ran parallel with sporadic artistic pursuits.

In 2018 following personal, professional, and health challenges, Liz reignited her creative life. It was time for more joy, more beauty. She and her beloved dog Pearl became passionate hikers. Leaving nursing, EAC launched a pet sitting business and returned to painting and scratchboard. Venturing into the world of repurposed materials art, she exhibited and sold her work locally in Santa Cruz, California. 

In 2024 EAC deepened  her commitment to becoming a professional artist. Through the rigors of the Milan Art Institute’s Mastery Program, EAC has emerged as AEC with a strong developing artistic voice. AEC stands for Arc-en-Ciel, or rainbow, representing the many artistic strands she is inspired to create. Each color is unique but together they form a harmonious arch containing the full spectrum. 

AEC is an artist with a lust for learning, compelled to explore the complexities of the world and discover its patterns. She admires the natural world in its totality: random, rough, chaotic but equally full of grace and beauty. Taking in the vastness, she offers us her translations, in visual forms.  AEC probes and portrays the inner worlds of animals, people and the relationships between them. This artist invites us to share her love for animals in their home environments and also in some quirky settings. She encourages us to be curious about our worlds, to question how we relate to ourselves, and to others. 

AEC welcomes all who rejoice in wild vibrant splashes of color arranged in compelling abstract compositions, as well as those who prefer to simmer in the deep earth tones of a warm sunny Santa Cruz landscape or a long winding trail in the woods. The works of AEC allow us to revel in the textures of thick acrylics as well as smooth and lustrous oil paint. In the current Magic Carpet Series, we enjoy the whimsical pleasures of cows, pigs, and sheep who find themselves in unusual places. In Sparrow Dreams & Related Mysteries, we find ordinary birds with extraordinary ambitions.