Liz Perkins has a gift for painting. For those of you who have not ventured beyond Holmes or the Brookings Arch, this week’s Campus Celeb will give you good reason to do so. Charismatic and endearing, Liz is a triple threat who is just as awesome as her work. Read on to find out more about this Sam Fox senior!
Year: Senior
Major: Studio Art (Painting Concentration)
Hometown: Woodbridge, CT
Involvement on campus: AEPhi, played water polo here for a couple of years too (yes, Wash U actually has a water polo team)
How long have you been painting for? Can you tell us about your work? I’ve been painting since elementary school. I had a really traditional art education when I was younger so a lot of the work I do at Wash U involves exploring ways to challenge traditions of art. Most of my work involves portraiture and super bright and crazy colors.
What is your favorite piece you’ve worked on? I have a series of six big paintings called World’s Greatest Boss. To be honest, I still haven’t completely figured out what the series is all about but I had a lot of fun working in such a large scale.
Favorite artist’s style, artist, or piece of work you admire? I love love love Jenny Saville <333
This summer you said you worked as an art teacher. What was that like? I taught 12 to 18 year olds at a boarding school in Connecticut. I was an assistant teacher for two classes (Clay Workshop and Studio Art) and then taught my own art class in the afternoon. I also coached, was an advisor, and supervised the dorms. It was such an amazing experience and the majority of the kids were international students. I ended up learning so much from them.
Is that something you could see yourself doing? Absolutely. As cheesy as it sounds, I really like having the opportunity to give students an emotional outlet during a time in their lives that can be so stressful. Self-expression is super important!
Favorite thing about Sam Fox school? The environment of the painting studios. There’s always something ridiculous going on, and I’ve learned to expect the unexpected in terms of what may be hanging on the walls the next time I walk in.
If you weren’t going to paint, what other medium would you want to work with? I guess I’d say photo, but I don’t think I’d really want to be doing anything else!
Any weird ways painting has come up in your life? The most common pick up line I’ve gotten on Tinder: “paint me like one of your French girls.” Also, story time: I went to this art school pre-college program when I was younger and my roommate and I got in trouble for piercing our ears in the dorm room. Our punishment? Draw a picture about why piercing your ears is dangerous. ~classic art skool~
A picture is worth a thousand words, so be sure to check out Liz’s portfolio of work!