Elizabeth Wade is a Nashville artist who paints watercolor story maps of classic books and beloved places, draws hymn tea towels, and helps beginners pick up a paintbrush for the first time. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from Auburn University and lives in Nashville with her husband and three children. She paints every original by hand in her studio.
After years designing at advertising agencies and publication design firms, I took a break to be home full time with my three children, all born within three and a half years.
I failed at cooking and cleaning, but I thrived at crafting, building and reading. We held our own little “preschool” every day, and in the middle of all that playfulness my love of making art came back. I was happy to be the crazy lady at the library piling books into our double stroller, because reading together brought wonderful conversations and a little stillness to our busy home. Those stories became part of our family. We knew the Hundred Acre Wood and Green Gables as well as our own street.
As my kids started school, I picked up a brush again. I painted landscapes in acrylic and came back to watercolor, the medium I grew up watching my grandmother and mother use.
Then I painted my first map of a favorite book, and everything clicked. Each map holds the memories those stories gave me and my children. I quickly learned I wasn’t alone. So many of you have a story that shaped you, a place you’ve visited a hundred times without ever leaving your chair.
My art is an invitation to remember, to dream, and to step for a moment into the shoes of your favorite characters. I hope each piece captures more than how a place looks. I hope it holds the feeling you had when you first read the story. Come and connect, be inspired, and see the world around you with fresh, joyful eyes.
Each year Elizabeth Wade Studio donates a portion of all proceeds to UpRise Nashville which is a free career training program that gives local people the skills and certifications they need to land better-paying positions at established Nashville companies.
Each piece is thoughtfully hand painted in watercolor by Elizabeth.
Elizabeth takes favorite stories and locations and turns them into touching art.
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