LISbeth quebe
Lisbeth Quebe has always loved drawing. She first took oil painting lessons as a teen in her hometown of Decatur, Illinois, and went on to major in art at the University of Colorado. A three-decade career in marketing and communications for the architectural industry left no time for drawing and painting, but when she retired in 2002 to a rural property in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin, Liz immediately picked up a brush. Twenty years later, after many paintings and much woodworking on the part of her husband Jerry (who made many of her beautiful hand-crafted frames) she moved to Rochester, Minnesota where she maintains a studio in her home. Liz is an associate member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, and American Women Artists. She is represented by Plum Bottom Gallery and her paintings can be found in three of their Door County gallery locations– just outside of Egg Harbor, in downtown Egg Harbor, and in downtown Fish Creek.
When I resumed painting in 2002, after a 35-year hiatus called a career, I first painted still lifes, and I continue to enjoy creating them. I like to incorporate items that resonate with people because of the memories they prompt. I have used family heirlooms—my grandmother’s sewing items, my great-grandmother’s linens and vases, my father’s old tools. Vegetables fresh from the garden or just-picked flowers are universal pleasures that just beg to be painted.
A few years later I began painting en plein air. The rolling hills of the Driftless Area, the creeks and streams, and the iconic family farms offered countless opportunities for painting. The quickly changing light, the many shades of green in spring and summer, the rich hues of fall and the harvest—all drew me outdoors, intent on capturing a small part of this special area. I now paint landscapes primarily in my studio, from studies and photographs.
In 2011, I began painting animals, and found new subjects to love. When I lived in an area with small family dairy farms and Amish farmsteads, subjects were not hard to find. My husband and I went on frequent “photo safaris” looking for the perfectly posed animal in perfectly placed light. I was drawn to cows, but in time to horses, goats and chickens too. Later I added family pets, all manner of birds and wildlife. I strive to capture not only the likeness of the animal, but a little of their personality too.