Story & Lesson Highlights with Elizabeth Dryden of Grand Junction, CO

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Elizabeth Dryden. Check out our conversation below.

Elizabeth, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
When I enter my studio and begin painting it is like entering a time warp. What feels like only 30 minutes passing by can sometimes be up to 7 hours of painting that has flown past without warning. It is a mind boggler, but this weird time warp phenomenon lets me know that my career as a full-time artist is definitely my true calling.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a full-time artist focusing on creating art that reflects the modern west. The idea of the traditional cowboy western art mixed with today’s modern society intrigues me to create mixed media paintings with fun, bright colors, lots of texture and scenes of the old west. Bringing what has been lost in time into the future through my art, creates a new look on history and our culture and society today. As a relative of Buffalo Bill Cody, I have long been fascinated with the Wild West of American culture and the values and hard work that are a part of the “Cowboy Way”. Today’s world has lost a lot of those values and I hope to bring them back to the forefront within my work. I believe that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the ultimate artist, who’s handiwork can be seen all around us within each other and the beautiful flora and fauna he has surrounded us with on this beautiful planet we live on. Without his creativity in creating over 73,000 species of trees, over 1.5 million animal species, not to mention land formations, flowers, etc the world could be a very bland and boring place. I love to recreate his beauty in my version of cacti and animals of the southwest and western regions of the United States. My brand has recently expanded from paintings and prints on canvas or paper to collaborating with Fringe silk scarves, a scarf company out of Texas who took 3 of my pieces and created beautiful 100% silk scarves available for purchase in retail establishments. Another collaboration this year was working with Sweetwater Pillow Company out of Wisconsin. They took 17 of my images and made beautiful leather pillows which can also be found online and in retail stores throughout the country which go well with my western theme. Other recent collaborations were designing the first pair of women’s commercial cowgirl boots for Dixon Boot Company, a custom boot company since the 1800s who recently came out with a commercial line to be sold online and in stores. They have been worn by country music stars and influencers such as The Castellows and Valarie Lamb and may possibly be seen on America’s Got Talent in this upcoming season. I look forward to seeing where else my art will take me in the upcoming year ahead!

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
As an artist it can be scary to put your work out in front of people for the first time. “What if they don’t like it? What if they think I am weird? What if this painting is terrible and people will laugh at me?” These are questions probably every artist has asked themselves when sharing work with others. The first place I ever displayed. my work publicly was a coffee shop when I was living in the little town of Pullman, Washington around 2005. I had created a body of work in college and had the opportunity to display it in the coffee shop for one month. I had never had my work in a public place before and was terrified at what people coming in would think. I would come in and get coffee and sit at a table pretending to be working on something and listen to the reactions people would have. (They didn’t know I was the artist). Some reactions were positive, and some not, but any reaction meant that my art was moving them enough to say something, which made me feel good. After that initial display in the coffee shop, it gave me the confidence to show my work with people in more and more places! Sharing with others and not keeping it to yourself is ultimately what creating something is about!

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Like many, I have had lots of struggles in my life, and I believe art has always been a form of therapy for me throughout all of them. I was a “troubled teen” in high school and was sent away to a residential home my sophomore year of high school due to my unruly behavior and depression struggles. I did not know who I was and had a lot of anger from my family situation at home. I felt hopeless and alone in a cold world. It was there that I found a relationship with Jesus and found that I was loved and had a purpose. I dove head first into my art and loved the joy it would bring people when I gave them something that I had made for them. I believe having gratitude cures depression and being thankful for the unique gifts each person has been given individually for their lives. Finding that gift and using it to glorify God is what I believe creates ultimate happiness. I believe I am healed from my wounds and hurt as a kid due to the healing that only God can provide.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is pretty much the real me, except dressed up a little bit more. I am usually seen around the house in workout clothes or my painting clothes which consist of big baggy sweatpants caked with paint and a t shirt. I usually have paint all over my hands and arms as well. A different look than my work attire during my years working for the flagship Neiman Marcus store in downtown Dallas, However, at art festivals and gallery shows, I try to dress the part- wearing a cute bright colored cowgirl dress and boots to match my artwork. I love supporting Fringe Scarf company and Dixon boots by wearing the scarves and boots that I designed at such events. As my husband likes to say, “If you look good, you feel good, and then you do good”. Id say dressing for success is important for any career situation. As far as how I act, I am always the same person no matter where I am- in public or private.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope my art will continue to bring joy to my clients and all who have admired it long after I am gone. I hope that the bright colors and themes of nature beautify the lives of the people who have enjoyed my work, creating a positive space and reminding them of the wonders of nature that surround them on a daily basis. I believe people get so wrapped up in their day to day lives of work, chores, and accomplishing mandatory tasks, that they forget to pause and look around themselves. There is a word outside of their hectic bubbles waiting to be explored and enjoyed. I hope my art can break up that monotony and remind others to look up and see a bigger picture that is gifted to us by our Creator.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elizabethdrydenart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethdrydenfineart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-dryden-3707b113/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edrydenpaintings/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elizabethdrydenart